I Want You to Kiss Me
by Adica Finch
Summary: One day, a bored James and Peter cook up a supposedly innocent scheme. However, while the 'joke' initially goes as planned, it begins to have repercussions that neither James nor Peter anticipated, and which Remus and Sirius are unable to accept. RLSB
1. Prologue Type Thing

**!!!!!!!!!!!THIS IS A SCENE FROM THE LARGER WHOLE. A PREVIEW, IF YOU WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **

**Author's note and stuff: Yup. This is a scene from a larger story (in the larger story, we find out WHY Remus wants Sirius to kiss him, and how things go afterwards. You know, all the dramatic stuff.) I just felt like getting it up while my brothers weren't lurking. I guess if people like this I'll pursue the larger story. Actually, I think I'll be pursuing it regardless. Just, not for awhile. **

"I want you to kiss me," he said slowly and deliberately, in answer to my questioning stare.

"W-what?" I asked, as my carefully composed facade began to crumble. I had been building up a resistance to Remus for the last couple of months now. However, it was becoming more and more ineffective as the werewolf became alarmingly adept at breaching my defenses. My eyes darted around the dorm as I looked for some excuse to deny Remus' request. There wasn't much help around Peter's bed and mound of clothes, and James' Quidditch bedecked wall was hardly useful. "Why?" I finally muttered, pretending not to notice how high my voice was.

"Well, you like blokes," Remus said matter-of-factly.

_'Yeah, and the only reason you know is because you beat it out of me. Verbally and emotionally, anyway. Damn wanker,' _I thought back in annoyance.

"Yes, but..." I managed to intelligently verbalize.

"So, logically, you'd be the best person to help me," he raised an eyebrow at me, as if this wasn't a big deal. I guess it wasn't. Not in the great scheme of things. But to me, this was life altering. Stupid werewolf.

"But, Remus, I've never actually . . . kissed a bloke, yet," I had to swallow a few times before confessing this. In fact, I'd reverted back to the females. There was comfort in familiarity, even if there wasn't much satisfaction to be found.

Now both of his eyebrows shot up, before he exclaimed in surprise: "What?! But, you told me you fancied boy's ages ago!"

"Yes, I know," I spat, rather defensively, as my mounting frustration got the better of me.

Remus immediately sobered at my tone. He was too perceptive for his own good. I blamed it on his furry little problem. He caught whiff of things he shouldn't way too often.

"Why not, Sirius?" He scooted closer to me on the bed, in an attempt at comfort. We both ignored how the springs groaned in protest to the shifting of his weight. My eyes once again scanned the room. The window was closed against the pouring rain, the closet was silently rejecting me with its closed door, and the candles were all merrily burning away. Nothing needed my assistance.

"I don't know," I finally mumbled sullenly. His close proximity was beginning to distract me. I desperately wished Peter or James would burst into the dormitory to save me from this situation.

"Yes, you do," he said patiently, as he leaned his face in, in an attempt to catch my gaze. Little did he know that this compassionate action made me ready to pounce. On him, in case you hadn't gathered that.

I let my head hang lower, so I wouldn't have to face his piercing stare before continuing.

"I guess . . . I guess I'm just waiting for the right guy," I said with a half-hearted shrug. Dear Merlin, if James had heard me at that moment, he would have thrown a shoe at me and told me to stop being such a bloody poof.

"Oh. I understand, Sirius," Remus assured me, before sitting up straight again. Moony wasn't James. He understood that I wasn't just some horny teenager, even if everyone else was convinced that my still-standing reputation with the ladies was rather incriminating to my character.

"Mmhmm," I muttered in a noncommittal manner. Just once I wished he wouldn't be so bloody understanding. That he would have teased me, so I could pick a fight and end this damn tension. But, no. Not Moony.

"Well," Remus mused, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to steal your first kiss." The werewolf stood up and began heading for the common room, with what I presumed to be a blush of embarrassment painting his cheeks. I suppose I can't really blame him for thinking that I would have _some_ experience, instead of being being so pathetically inept.

My relief at his imminent departure was soon replaced by panic, as I realized the amazing chance I was allowing to walk away. _Sirius, you fool! _I thought, _stop him! _"Remus!" I said, a bit too frantically. I composed myself before continuing. "Remus. Wait. It's . . . okay. I don't mind it being you."

His eyes widened again, before he sat back down. "Sirius, really, it's okay . . . "

In an attempt to regain my bravado, I waved away his words as insignificant. "Honestly, Moony, it's not_ that_ big a deal." It took me a minute to realize I'd just begun what was soon to be an epic arsehole rant. That's about the time my brain started to scream at my mouth to shut up. Sadly, those two anatomical features of mine have never worked well together.

"Oh . . . "

"I mean, it's been, what? Six months? It might as well be you." Merlin, I'm an idiot. I mean, come on, how big of a git did I look like in that moment?

"Sirius," Remus said disapprovingly, as a frown began to crease his forehead. _Now you've gone and offended him. Sirius, you are a Mo-ron, _I thought to myself in disgust.

I cut him off. I could feel my chance slipping away, and I had to snatch it back. "Well, after half a year, a bloke gets pretty desperate," I continued frantically, watching the stupidity of my words reflect themselves back at me through Remus' reaction. _Just start hitting your head against the wall now, you damn idiot._

He was outright scowling now, and beginning to lean away. Now I really was desperate. At least, desperate enough to finally take some drastic measures. So, I did what I do best and acted on instinct.

Following the course of his body, I leaned in as he leaned back, and finally ended up on top of him. On a nice, comfy bed, too . . .

Now, despite popular belief, I am _not _that horny. So, no, I did not become instantly hard due to our interesting positioning. My face just became rather flushed.

_Now_ our gazes were locked rather intently. I didn't really know what to do, and Remus certainly wasn't encouraging me. He just looked at me in a somewhat bland, yet challenging manner. I'd kill to know what he was thinking, then.

After simply laying there and staring into his eyes, I finally decided that action would be prudent. Seeing as how if I didn't do anything, that my brain would withdraw and once again allow my body to take over . . . As it was, it was already too much, being literally on top of him. Honestly, I may not be a sex-fiend, but certain positions are rather difficult to go unnoticed. I really, quite desperately, _want_ him. I leaned down slowly, maintaining eye contact until our lips were only an inch apart.

Finally, I let my eyes slide shut, and savored the feel of him beneath me, before closing the gap and hesitatingly brushing my lips against his.

It was just a whisper of contact, but it made my body go nuts. My muscles clenched, my stomach did somersaults, and I couldn't breathe. I froze, terrified of what I would do if I continued.

"Sirius," Remus murmured against my lips, "you don't have to do this."

I opened my eyes to meet his once more, shivering at the sensations coursing through me as his words caused his lips to move against mine.

"Remus," I breathed, "I _want_ it to be you," I willed him to understand this with my eyes.

He did. Remus took the final step by pressing _his_ lips against mine.

That undid me. I think he intended the kiss to be chaste, but I was far past the point of rational thinking.

I pressed my body against his and devoured him.

I almost whimpered when I felt his hands flutter against my back, before they stilled and pressed down. It took all my willpower to keep my own hands clutching the sheets, instead of burying them in his hair.

When I allowed my tongue to slip into his mouth, and felt _him_ respond with his own, I knew it was time to stop. After all, I didn't want him to view the situation later and accuse me of taking advantage, or something. My logic was a bit out of wack, then. I should have just seduced him.

After a few seconds of my mind warring with my body, I managed to throw myself off him. Literally. I hit the floor with an 'oof".

We both lay there, panting, for at least a minute, before Remus broke the silence with a chuckle.

"I only meant for it to be a peck, Padfoot," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, you started it," I retorted, rather brilliantly, if I do say so myself. My mind was still whirling with the heat of Remus, and I was hardly capable of formulating a rational response.

He rolled over, grinning. "I'd say I did your first kiss justice, don't you think?"

"Mmm," I said, while I savored the tingling sensations still assaulting my lips. "Wait, what?" Really, you'd think I'd pay more attention to what he's saying than what he just did.

"I said, Pads, that I bloody well put up a good show for your first kiss, right?" he said in a mock-annoyed manner.

I laughed delightedly, despite being a little put-out at his declaring it to be only for show. "Quite thoroughly, actually. You know," I said with a grin (I was about to push my luck), "if you're that good at kissing, then I can just imagine how you are at everything else. You might just be my first for everything."

He threw a pillow at me.


	2. Offiial Chap 1 In Which a Prank is Born

**!!!!!!OFFICIAL CHAPTER ONE!!!!! **

**Authors Note: I opened this the way I did intentionally. It could be coming from either Remus' or Sirius' point of view. You decide. The story might even decide for itself later. We'll see. Anyway, this is the official Chapter One. The other thing is like a preview/prologue type thing, that you people will understand if you've ever read the books by Stephanie Meyer. You know, Twilight and what not.**

* * *

It all started with a prank. I know, when it comes to the Marauders that's not so unusual. But this particular prank set in motion a series of rather unfortunate events that are still continuing today. And, believe me, it's been while since James unleashed that particular harbinger of torture. I'm just wondering if I'll be able to survive all its repercussions. 

What was this force of all-consuming evil that dear Prongs unleashed, you ask? The only way to answer that is to return to that fateful day during History of Magic, where all things Marauder-ish seem to brew.

* * *

"What class next?" I mumbled as I walked down the zombie-infested corridor. And by zombies I mean half asleep Hogwarts students, with me the current leader of their ranks. 

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but last night I pulled an all-nighter. And when I say "all-nighter", I mean it. No twenty minute stretches of sleep for me. No, no. Not Sirius Black.

I had to prove to those snarky-faced wankers, who insist that I'm always the first one out for the night, that I was the most superior of them all. Naturally, I did so through a bet, which, obviously, I won.

Too bad I felt like such a loser. That pile of chocolate frogs was not worth it, even if it was funny to watch Remus struggle to overthrow me for the promised prize.

"History of Magic, mate", James said, with an all too amiable slap to the back. He'd gotten at least four hours of rest. Even though falling asleep that early proved him to be a weak-willed bugger with no endurance, he still seemed to be the one that came out on top. A half mumbled reply was all he got from me, and then it was back to shuffling through the halls.

Being the friend that he is, James didn't wait for me to catch up to him, and was already seated when I entered, just before the bell. There was a look of disappointment on his face when I didn't come in late.

"C'mon, Padfoot, perk up! You're superior to us, remember?" He said, disappointment forgotten in the face of eminent harassment.

"If you don't stop grinning, I'm going to chop off your dick and feed it to you," I said as calmly as possible.

He was unperturbed. "But, Sirius," James said innocently, "then you won't be able to gloat to me about your domination, since I'll be in the Hospital Wing!"

The students around us began to snicker, which served to irritate me even more. Shouldn't they be paying attention or something? Binns was up there nattering on, completely oblivious to the fact that the back corner of the classroom was turned towards James and me. I can't really blame them, though. We _are_ an excellent source of entertainment. But today was not the day to amuse my public.

"Sod off, James," I finally spat out. You don't mess with Sirius Black when he's operating on zero hours of sleep. James got the point, turning around to retrieve notebook and quill from his school bag.

I followed suit, though it was only for show. I was fairly certain that I'd be passing out in about, oh, five minutes. Hell, even if I hadn't been this tired, I would have spent more time doodling than taking notes. And it's a proven fact that no matter how hard James tries to pay attention, by the time class is halfway over, he'll be paying more attention to the dust than the Professor.

I had just laid my head down when Remus, the bloody git, who was behind me with Peter, raised his hand to ask a question, thus drawing Binns's attention to me. I repeat, he's a bloody git.

Once the two were done asking and answering, I slowly revolved in my seat, fully intending to glare murder at Remus, but the damned werewolf was busy taking notes. Being the mighty Sirius Black, I chose to glare anyway. I felt pretty stupid when the boy continued to keep his head facing his notebook, rendering my glare pretty ineffective.

With a sigh, I opted to rest my chin in my hand, and appear to look alert for as long as possible. Honestly, I had no idea how Remus could sit back there and be all studious, when he'd only lost the bet to me by an hour. I reasoned that if Remus could damn well stay awake, then so could I.

* * *

I. Was. Tired. So tired that I didn't know why I was taking notes in the first place. It must have been the fact that it was either pay attention, or be forced to decipher James' chicken scratch or Peter's random ramblings. Sirius, who could at least write legibly, wasn't even making a show of taking notes, so there was no hope there. 

I was completely oblivious to the world that morning - particularly the Marauders. I did not have the patience for those three that day, so I ignored them thoroughly.

James had already tried to get a rise out of me, before more tempting bait came in the form of Padfoot, and I knew that he would continue to do so, along with Peter, all day. Sirius was a source of dread as well. If he ever managed to regain full functionality, he would not cease his gloating until I shot a Silencio at him.

So, instead of confronting any of those particular brands of torture, I took notes. Lots and lots of notes. This meant that I Was Not To Be Disturbed. I would bloody well murder them, and they knew it. Besides, they needed me to pay attention, otherwise their notes would be useless.

I was just glad to see that James' attention became focused on Sirius instead of me. That's the good thing about sporting a bland facade - I was no fun to antagonize. Unless, of course, they thought they could get an impressive reaction out of me. Unfortunately, there was full potential for that today.

Which meant I could NOT be caught unawares. I had to appear functional. So, I raised my hand and shot off some stupid question about Goblins, thus cementing the fact that I was Aware. Of everything around me. Absolutely everything.

Unfortunately, it appeared I was unable to spell that day, so I rewrote the same sentence three times before moving on to a more coherent phrase.

"Uh, Remus?" Peter asked uncertainly, as he read my notes in a half-hearted attempt to correct his.

"Huh?" I asked after a five-second delay. I was awake, by Merlin!

"Um", he asked with a confused snicker, "what're you talking about here?" he pointed to a sloppy scrawl in the margin of my page: _'the Goblins chose this particular brand of warfare because it involved the least amount of awareness and Merlin helped too.'_

"Uh," I uttered intelligently, after giving the sentence my 'what the fuck face', as Sirius calls it. I then snatched back the notebook and furiously scratched out half my notes.

* * *

I was still laughing over Remus's incoherency when I saw his head droop down over his notebook. He was back up with a jerk, but it only lasted five minutes. I watched this cycle of drifting in and out of sleep for about ten minutes, which is when his head didn't come back up. 

I glanced in front of me to gauge Sirius's state of awareness, grinning ecstatically when I realized he was drooling into his hand.

_James'll love this! _I thought triumphantly. I tore off a corner of my notebook page, and half my notes with it. I didn't care, though. Not when I had such a good idea!

Humming a merry little tune and brimming with pride at my brilliance, I scrawled out a quick note to James:

_Prongs,_

_Moony and Pads are totally out of it, don't you think? I bet you could come up with some real great prank to get them while they're napping! Don't you think that's a good idea? Let me know what you think._

_Wormtail._

I levitated the note right in front of James, pleased with the accuracy of my charm, and let it fall in front of him. I scribbled down a few notes while I eagerly awaited his reply, although I have no idea what I wrote.

He whisked the note back to me with a speed I envied, before turning back to his own apparent note taking.

_Wormtail,_

_That's not a bad idea. I'm surprised you thought of it._

_Prongs_

I was both elated and disappointed by his reply. What did he actually plan to do? I wrote this down on the paper and floated it back towards him, noticing his sigh as he contemplated the complexity of his prank. James really was a genius.

* * *

I sighed in annoyance when Peter's note came poking up in front of me. Honestly, there was no point in telling him, he couldn't actually help, anyway. 

I didn't say this to him, though. I chose instead to write an abbreviated version of my newly hatched scheme, basking in Peter's all-too-obvious approval in the form of stifled snickers from behind me.

When Peter's note drited up to me again, I opened it with a half-arsed attempt at patronization.

_Wow, Prongs! That's brilliant! Bloody brilliant, actually!_

_You know what might be even better? I mean, if you think so. _

_But, wouldn't it be funny if it was about each other?_

I grinned maniacally at Peter's addition to the plan, thoroughly commending his genius, while quietly marveling at his attempt to speak up. I mean, the kid wasn't half as bad when he actually thought independently.

I quit thinking about Peter as the possibilities of his suggestion crystalized into one clear-cut prank. Yeah, I really was bloody brilliant.

_Oh, they will be scarred,_ I thought with a devious smirk, before beginning my charm.


	3. Chap 2 The Prank

**Authors Note: Not much to say. Here's the second chapter. I'm sorry that Peter doesn't make an appearance, but I felt it unnecessary. And, really, I pretty much like this one, and if you don't, then let me know, and I'll do what I can to fix it. Now, enough of me rambling. Read and enjoy. Oh, and WolfMusic, my dear, I DID reference one of your jokes in there, from the latest chapter of one of YOUR stories. You should know which one.  
**

Peter and I watched in eager anticipation for our prank to take effect on Moony and Pads. It was hard to tell at first - they were both quite thoroughly out, and probably enjoying one of those heavy, dreamless sleeps.

I snickered at the thought of the dream I had unleashed upon both of them. Peter stared goggle-eyed at the two of them, not wanting to miss their reaction to the scene about to play through their minds.

It was subtle at first; Sirius's eyes began fluttering, almost twitching, and Remus' forehead slowly crinkled into a frown. Peter and I began quietly chuckling at these obvious signs of a disturbance in the subconscious, and patiently waited for the moment they'd wake.

It was a matter of about five minutes, that probably seemed like ages to them, when they finally did. Wormy and I were already laughing before they awoke, but when they actually did, we began laughing so hysterically that even Binns' attention was drawn to us.

Sirius's awakening was undoubtedly painful, for he awoke with a start that jerked his head out of his hand and made his forehead connect with the edge of the table.

"Bloody hell!" He cried, in reaction to both pain and dream. He was still muttering, cursing, and looking generally bewildered when I turned my attention to Moony.

With a snort, he had a random spasm of the hand that sent his inkwell over the edge of the table, to land with a splat that managed to graffiti both Remus's face and clothes.

I think it was agreed that Peter and I went slightly mad that day, our laughter was so maniacal. But only someone who actually _knew_ what had just went through those two heads would understand the hilarity of the situation.

* * *

_"The Goblins, you see, not only felt angry, but betrayed. The treachery of the . . ." I looked around the room as I half-listened to Binns speak. Everything was fuzzy, and there was no one else in the room except for the Marauders and myself._

_Not even Binns. His voice was just randomly invading my subconscious._

_I glanced at my fellows, noticing how bizarre each one was acting. James was holding his Quidditch broom . . . but it was really a coat hanger. Or something. My attention got distracted by Peter, who was behind me. He was methodically eating a cracker, going from one end to the other in a nibbling fashion._

_I snorted. He was acting like a rat. What a creep._

_Remus was simply twirling in a circle, which ought to have been impossible, since he was in a chair, but, well, this was a dream. I think._

_That thought gave me the urge to get up and walk out of the classroom . . . into the dormitory. I sat down on my bed without thinking anything of it, noticing absently that the room was lit only by a few soft candles, and that there were roses everywhere._

_Whatever, it smelled good. I put my hands behind my head and laid down, staring up at the ceiling while I waited . . . but for what I was waiting for I wasn't sure._

_Until Remus walked in, looking absolutely scrumptious._

_"I've been waiting for you," I murmered, running my hands over the sheets sensuously as I did so._

_He grinned languorously as he swaggered up to me, taking his time so I could admire his bare chest. Once I'd gotten my eyeful, he lowered himself onto the bed with me, pressing himself against my body._

_Somewhere along the way I'd lost my shirt, so we were crushed together, skin against skin, with his lips hovering just above my own. "Good, then you should be especially . . . eager," he whispered huskily, while smiling slowly._

_My breath hitched, making me gasp when he brought his lips to mine. He captured them and kissed them relentlessly, using one hand to knead my hair and the other to run along my chest. I responded accordingly, grabbing the hem of his pants and dragging his groin down, to meet mine, which was arching up . . ._

But then I heard someone laughing at us . . . and, slowly, the room began to fade, and the History of Magic classroom began to take its place.

Then, in the instant when both my dream world and the real world were mixed, I heard the dream Remus give a satisfied groan, causing my physical body to give a jerk that smashed my forehead into the desk . . .

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed, in both pain and confusion.

My freaking head hurt, but for more reasons than one. I mean, seriously, what a fucked up dream! It was just . . . _weird_. Where on _earth_ had it come from? I wondered, as I gingerly touched the shiner developing on my forehead.

Who the hell had dreams like that about their best mates? Weird! But, it was so absurd that I knew I'd have to tell James. Because, honestly, if I told him, then I could just laugh about it and be done with it. It was just . . . ugh. I gave a shudder and turned towards James, who, I'd just realized, was laughing uncontrollably.

I slowly revolved in my seat for the second time that day, to see Peter with tears rolling down his cheeks. What the bloody hell? So, I hit my head . . . it's not that funny.

My glance darted uncomfortably to Remus, who I saw, with a shock that made me laugh, was covered in ink and blushing crimson.

I realized later that he must have grasped the situation far better than I did, for he looked up and directly at James, glaring so fiercely that the other boys laughter doubled. At the time, I merely thought he was insulted by James making fun of him for the ink splatter.

* * *

I woke in reaction to the dream with a start that sent my ink splattering everywhere. It took only a moment for me to assess the situation, after the initial confusion had worn off. I would have grinned when Sirius' head smashed into his desk, had I not just suffered through the same thing he did. 

First off, that dream was way too vivid, and completely unlike anything I'd ever dreamt before. I mean, okay, being a guy and all I'd had a few wet dreams here and there, but they'd never had a dialogue, and they'd never been about a _boy._

Secondly, Peter and James would not be laughing so hysterically if I'd simply splattered my ink - and, after hearing Sirius's exclamation of "bloody hell" - Sirius hitting his head.

Finally, Sirius would not have woken up at the same time and in such an abrupt manner, had we not been experiencing the same thing.

I _knew_ that was no ordinary dream. Had Peter and James not been laughing so uncontrollably, I might have doubted, but their reaction confirmed my suspicion. Of course, it didn't matter that the dream had been completely out of my control, my face was still flaming.

It was a mixture of embarrassment and fury, however. I'd promised myself that I would not let them get me, and then turned around and failed miserably.

I was pretty much certain that James had orchestrated the whole thing, so I turned to stare furiously at him. He knew that I knew, which only made it funnier. After a few more seconds of listening to Wormtail and Prongs having their fun, I finally got fed up and shot a Silencio at them.

Professor Binns, who had actually been distracted by the interruption, seemed slightly taken aback by the spell, but merely shrugged at the conclusion of the disturbance. He was back to speaking within moments, demanding the classes attention as he did so.

I glanced towards Sirius, who quickly averted his eyes when they met mine. He seemed totally baffled and more than a little uncomfortable. I sighed in exasperation, and told him in an unintentionally condescending manner: "Padfoot, the dream was a prank." I then raised my eyebrows in clear annoyance and indication for him to put it all together himself.

I myself was slightly weirded out by the whole experience, but that was no excuse to start any awkwardness between Sirius and me. That would only prolong the joke, and I wouldn't give James and Peter the satisfaction of my acknowledgment of their prank.

Sirius did have a brilliant mind, even if he sometimes had "inbred moments", as James liked to call them, (since he wasn't blonde, and therefore couldn't have blonde moments). He quickly grasped the situation, turning towards James as the perpetrator, as I'd done.

He looked his best mate squarely in the eye, and then, with an utterly baffled frown, declared: "James. What the fuck."


	4. Chapter 3 Retaliate Much?

**Authors Note: Hello my darlings, and thank you for your reviews! There is not much to say, other than notice my clever little foreshadowing at the end. Yeah, that's right, I did it. Um, any ideas or anything you'd like me to include, just holler. I'm sorry for any errors and the like in this chapter, but let it be known that after I post these babies, I re-read them religiously, and thus correct them often. So, they always get slightly better.**

**Oh, and this is incentive to Ms. WolfMusic, who needs to bloody update!**

* * *

I think it need not be said that I was both highly amused and slightly afraid for my life after the prank. I mean, okay, it was brilliant, but I didn't quite consider the fact that now Sirius would be getting back at me . . .

And to top it off, Remus was suitably pissed off enough to not only oversee Sirius' work, but contribute in some substantial way. He did that sometimes, and the results were exemplary. Which, incidentally, was not good this time around.

Right now I could bank on Sirius' bafflement and Remus' incoherent anger (he is one damn irritable werewolf when he's cranky) to keep me out of the line of fire. However, Sirius' frown was already melting into something a little more devious - a look I knew only too well.

The seed for a retaliation had been embedded in his mind, and when he was back to operating on his normal hyper active level, I didn't stand a chance.

Now, I wasn't quite certain if his eminent comeback would be today, but I knew for certain it would be within the week.

So, I reasoned it was time to implement plan 27 B. Which meant me and Peter needed to get into some intentionally deep shit. Otherwise Sirius and Remus would Fuck Us Up.

I reflected on this thought for a moment before I realized that this wasn't so bad. In fact, I began planning my return assault on the other two boys. I snickered. Peter and I had unleashed a Marauders War upon the poor, unsuspecting body of Hogwarts. This was gonna be smashing.

However, while it was tempting to immerse my self in my already over-exuberant and far too elaborate plots, there was the more pressing matter of removing Peter and myself from the doggies immediate vicinity. It was rather important that we put a little hustle in our bustle, since History of Magic was the last class of the day.

"Oi, Pete!" I called as we exited Binns' classroom, "you know what we've begun, don't you?"

The other boy looked at me solemnly before responding. "I believe, James, that based off the look on Sirius' face, we are about to go to war." He darted a glance at me before asking uncertainly: "Am I right?"

With a laugh, I slung my arm around his shoulder and agreed just as seriously that he was.

"It's time to strategize, my dear Wormtail. And part of being a good General is knowing when to retreat," I stated dramatically. I glanced ahead at Remus and Sirius. The two of them were walking side by side, whispering and gesticulating in a distinctly plotting manner.

"Ah," Peter said wisely, in one of his rare moments of comprehension, "it's time to evade, right?"

"Yes, my friend, yes it is."

* * *

I decided that the most immediate and efficient way to remove ourselves from the opposing marauders wrath was to get into some trouble. James, of course, had already implied that, I just put it into words.

"I guess we'd better head to the Great Hall, Prongs," I said in a resigned tone of voice. Getting away from probable embarrassment and definite pranking was all well and good, but I did not particularly like the idea of suffering through self- imposed detention to avoid them. Even if it was with James. Prongs was fun and all, but there was only so much you could do to make torture bearable.

"I agree, good Wormy, lead on," James declared, as he sauntered along beside me with his hands in his pockets. I had no idea how he could be so jolly, what with his whistling and grinning. I guess he was still basking in the aftermath of a successfully launched prank.

Remus and Sirius broke off in another direction, presumably a shortcut, leaving James and me the chance to make a more concrete game plan.

"Okay, James, so . . . any ideas?" I asked after his self assurance got a bit unnerving. How could he be some calm about this? I don't care if we get into trouble all the time, it's still . . . scary. The looks McGonagall gives me!

"Oh, yes, Pete-o, just follow my lead."

Well. I'm pretty damn good at that, I thought, so I conceded.

We entered the Great Hall a bit after everyone had started eating, which was what James had been aiming for. He stood up on Gryffindor's table, pulling me up beside him. This was a supposedly strategic position, because our table was one of the middle ones.

He hadn't gained much attention yet, but I knew that he was about to. One of his eyes slid over to glance at me. "You might wanna apply a Sonorous," he murmered.

After watching him place one on himself, I followed suit.

"Ahem!" he declared. It took a minute for the students to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. I noticed McGonagall attempt to rise from her chair upon spotting us, but Dumbledore held her back. I think that man revels in our Marauderish antics.

"Blokes and birds of Hogwarts!" James shouted out, "I've an announcement to make!" He took a deep breath before continuing. Why couldn't he have just told me what he planned? This was NOT fun for me. "I, James Potter, like the word 'fuck'. That's right. Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck," he nudged me with his elbow.

I got the hint. "Yeah!" I shouted, "Fuck! Bloody hell! Fucking fuck sticks! Damn wankers!" Okay, this wasn't so bad. I'm kinda glad I didn't know. More of a rush. With a grin, James and I began screaming profanities at the top of our lungs.

It lasted for a glorious thirty seconds before a disgusted Lily Evans shot a Silencio at us. "Honestly, you two, you'd think you'd have a little more respect for yourselves and this school!" she turned to look at the front of the room. McGonagall was utterly stunned, Dumbledore's damn eyes were all a-twinkle, and Slughorn looked like he'd just shit a brick.

James and I grinned at each other, glorying in our success, even though his face was flaming from Lily's scathing remark. I wondered how much time he'd waste trying to convince her to forget about this fiasco.

My attention was distracted by the sound of clapping echoing through the stunned silence. The student body simply hadn't known how to react. Our antics don't usually lack finesse. That's why the sound of applause was almost painful of to the ears. Who would dare be so obnoxious after mine and James' show?

* * *

I began clapping before leaning over to Sirius and whispering: "See? Did I not tell you they'd do our work for us?" The other boy's mouth stretched into a slow grin before he stood up and added his clapping to my own.

"Bravo!" Sirius declared, "smashing show, boys! Simply brilliant! Don't you agree, Hogwarts?" Now that they had an example to follow, the rest of the Great Hall occupants's, with the exception of the Professors', began to clap and holler.

James and Peter, however, were not basking in their public's praise. Quite the contrary. By the looks on their faces, they realized quite thoroughly the trap they'd walked into. I loved my brilliant mind.

Sirius let out his barking laugh when some of the Hufflepuff's began exclaiming their own obscenities. Soon the whole hall was exploding with them. Professor McGonagall looked like she was going to have a seizure, whereas Professor Dumbledore was calmly finishing his plate of potatoes.

Once he'd finished and wiped his mouth, he began to stand up. However, the Headmaster was cut of by McGonagall's sudden return to the world of discipline. She stood up and declared shrilly, "Potter! Pettigrew! Black! Lupin! Detention! Detention for the next . . ."

Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she was interrupted by the esteemed Professor Dumbledore. "Now, Minerva," he soothed, "I hardly think Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin were involved. Lets not get carried away." Eyes still twinkling, he turned his gaze to the two offending marauders, who were held in place by Lily sternly pointing her wand at them. "However, it is quite obvious that these two boys were."

He clapped his hands together, as if in glee, before continuing. "One could almost say that they were asking for trouble." He grinned at the still-stunned Professor McGonagall before continuing. "I'd say about a weeks worth of detention, don't you agree?"

By the look on her face, she most certainly did not, but she was prevented the chance to voice her opinion, because at that moment a whole smorgasbord of deserts plopped onto the House tables. The students attention was diverted to more enjoyable entertainment, and James and Peter were quietly dealt with. I saw Lily escorting them out of the Hall, likely to McGonagall's office. It wasn't Lily's style to let them enjoy their last few moments of freedom.

* * *

I was still basking in our success when I got a nudge from Remus. He looked completely smashed, and I knew that I couldn't look much better. At least, figuratively speaking. Even when I looked my worst, it was still better than anyone else could pull off when they looked their best. I am dashing.

"Let's go up, Padfoot, I'm beat," he mumbled. We'd downed some Pepper Up potion throughout the day, but that stuff can only sustain you for so long. With a nod I stood up, but not before I stuffed my robes with all the goodies I could get my hands on.

James and Peter might be gits, but they were also my mates. I knew that Peter, in particular, would mourn the loss of a freaking dinner of deserts. Never say that Sirius Black is heartless.

Remus and I strolled back to the dorms, both of us punctuating the silence with jaw cracking yawns. And I do mean punctuating, because the silence was rather pregnant between the two of us.

Moony had treated my reaction to the dream with disdain, at first, but now that it was just the two of us things were undeniably awkward. The two of us filled the silence with mindless chatter over James' and Peters' stupidity at reacting exactly as Remus and I predicted they would, thus saving us the trouble of plotting against them in our exhausted states. However, we didn't say anything of importance until both of us were seated on our respective, and suitably rumpled, beds.

"Look," I started, "that dream was utter bollocks, but it was just a dream," I stated firmly. I glanced around the room - at James' slowly developing collage of Quidditch posters, Peters unmanly comforter (it had daisy's on it, for Merlin's sake!), and the clothing littering the dorm floor - anywhere to avoid meeting the werewolf's eyes.

"You're right," Remus agreed, although I noticed he still squirmed uncomfortably. "It's still weird, though."

"Way weird," I agreed. We sat there awkwardly for a moment, neither looking at the other, before he said something else.

"It was just so vivid, ya know? I didn't know James could pull something that clear off on such short notice," he stated, before fiddling with his bed sheets.

"Well, the wanker is pretty brilliant. Unfortunately," I stated lamely. I shivered as a cold draft blew through the room. Why on earth did James always have to open that damn window? No, Prongs, my boy, you are not that hot, I thought in reply to what I knew would be his answer.

I got up to close the offending disturber of my body heat, knowing that Remus was watching me uncertainly. He didn't say anything until I sat back down on my bed and gave him back my attention.

"Anyway, where did that idea come from?" he said, "I mean, come on, how creepy can James get?" he laughed nervously and I joined in.

"You're right, you know. Where did that come from? I mean, seriously, how much more inaccurate could Prongs have gotten? I mean, obviously I would have been the one on top," I snapped my mouth shut after saying that, realizing how much more potentially awkward I'd made things.

But Remus just looked at me like I was an idiot for a minute, making the heat creep up my face. Then he reacted in a completely Moony way - he just started laughing like I'd said the funniest thing in the world. I couldn't help but join in, and after that bout of manly giggling, I realized that everything was gonna go right back to normal.


	5. Chapter 4 A Potions Project and Partner

**AUTHORS NOTE: So, here's the next chapter. It's a bit of a filler and plot developer, so bear with me. The next chapter should be a bit juicier. We'll see. Anyway, not much to say. I'm sorry if it sounds garbled - just point out mistakes and I'll fix them. Anyway. Read and enjoy! **

I was completely wrong, of course. Things did not go right back to normal. Not three days later when things were still noticeably strained. I could not, for the life of me, figure out why it was so hard to get back up to our usual, casually comfortable friendship.

Stupid James and Peter.

It was undoubtedly better now, though. We were able to look each other in the eye without cringing, anyway. And our united front against Prongs and Wormtail's snickering was helpful.

To be quite honest, I don't think either of us were dwelling on it at all. It would only surface at obvious moments - like in Divination, when the Professor was going on about the significance of dreams. The uncomfortable feeling didn't last, though, because James and Peter began laughing up a riot, and, naturally, Moony and I were forced to silence them. The detention was worth it.

The level of normalcy had been brought nearly back up to its usual level (even if it was taking far too long, in my opinion), and right now the current object of my fleeting thoughts and I were headed on down to potions.

"Moony, I hate potions with a passion," I declared firmly.

He sighed. "I know, Padfoot. You tell me that every time we have it."

I drearly watched the stone grow darker and danker as we moved deeper into the castle. Moony would tell me it was only my imagination creating the forbidding scenery, but I knew the truth. They must glamour the wall or some such nonsense, so that students would be more receptive to the slug's teaching. "Well, I find power in reiteration," I retorted.

"That must be why you're so endlessly annoying," he said with a roll of his eyes. I smirked, and was about to retaliate (glad that Moony and I were actually engaging in a bickering match), before Prongs stuck his bloody commentary into the conversation.

"I second that," James stated, as a wide, sly, grin spread across his face. I swear, if that boy says something snarky, his arse is gonna be so hexed . . .

Lucky for him, Peter plopped himself into the conversation next. "Who's annoying?" he asked, looking between all of us. No one deigned to answer, so he deduced it for himself. "It must be Sirius," he said with a snicker.

"You're one to talk!" I shot right back. Peter annoyed me - that was no secret. I'd say he and I had the most strained relationship between the Marauders. I'd still take a hex for him, but I could do without his drooling over James. Honestly, grow a backbone!

Of course, I annoyed him right back. He was disgustingly jealous of the fact that I was James' best mate. There wasn't exactly anything I could do about that, though. I mean, I'm bloody brilliant, and it's impossible to dim that down. So, we bickered and sniped and insulted one another, but ultimately stood up for each other when the time came.

I still remember that one time in second year, when a group of fourth year Ravenclaws were calling ol' Petey boy a rolly polly and a poof so much that he was crying. You'd think, what with them being mighty moral Ravenclaws, that they'd back off when the poor kid was reduced to tears. They didn't.

I marched right up to them, whipped out my wand and gave each one of them boils for a week. They shot a vomiting hex at me that lasted even longer, but they never picked on Pete again, so it was worth it.

"You know," James said, tactfully interrupting what could have turned into an insult war, "Lily Evans actually smiled at me this morning."

It took a moment for the rest of us marauders to respond, and when we did, it was not the reaction James had been hoping for. We laughed our arse's off, and didn't respond until we'd seated ourselves at our potions stations.

"James, mate, I hate to break it to you, but Alice was sitting right next to you," I said with a continued laugh. The other boy scowled, severely ruffled by this revelation. Maybe I should have let him down a bit easier.

"Kinda like you and Remus were sitting next to each other?" he snapped. I reeled back - it was a stupid comment, but I knew he was trying to imply something by it.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" I shot back uncomfortably.

"Nothing, just that you two are beginning to look pretty cozy around one another," he replied angrily.

"O-kay, James," I said, trying to play it off as casually as possible. He was such a git - now things were gonna go right back to being awkward. Remus hadn't sat next to me at a meal since The Dream. Note to self: don't hurt James' pride.

* * *

My face began to flame when I heard James' comment to Sirius. I don't know why they talk so publicly - do they just think people will just politely avoid listening to them? If they do, then they're a bit more dense then I thought. 

I'd still felt a bit weird around Sirius after we talked about The Dream, and hadn't really fancied the idea of sitting next to him. But this morning I dismissed my lingering doubts and plopped down next to the other boy. Once I was seated, I really didn't think anything of it.

Now it was kind of awkward again, though. Bloody James and his bloody pride. The vulgarity of my thoughts surprised me. I never cursed out loud if I could avoid it. I tried to be as controlled and contained as possible when I was presenting myself to the world. I reasoned that the way I handled myself when human made up for the way I lost control once a month.

Of course, Sirius was always able to get under my shell and make me snap. It always slightly disturbed me that he could, and now it did even more so. I mean, if he was able to make me lose my temper or laugh uncontrollably, then who knew what else he could do? I shuddered away from those thoughts and turned to the front, stoutly ignoring James and Sirius.

I groaned along with everyone else when Professor Slughorn happily assigned us a group project. Working with anyone other than the Marauders was usually a pain. There were a few exceptions of course, like Lily, Frank, and Alice, but the odds of me being paired with any of them were as likely as me being paired with the marauders.

"James Potter," Professor Slughorn began with a jolly grin, "you'll be paired with Lily Evans . . ."

"Yes!"

" . . . and Severus Snape."

"NO!"

The Professor continued on, unconcerned with James' interruption. I tuned him out until I heard my name, both congratulating and pitying James on his partners.

"Remus Lupin, you will be paired with Sirius Black, who is in severe need of good marks, and Katie Wilk." I grunted absently. I guess whether we liked it or not, Sirius and I were going to become good mates again, what with being thrown into situations where we _had_ to communicate. Oh well, I wasn't complaining. Sirius and Katie were good partners.

I'd worked on a project with Katie before. She was a sweet girl and a hard worker. She never presented any ideas of her own, but she was more than willing to put in her fair share. This wouldn't be bad at all.

It was better than who poor Peter got stuck with, anyway. Erik Nordin, a _true_ Slytherin git, and Matilda Hatchkins, a fierce workaholic, sure to whip Peter into working his arse off. I sympathized with the kid, whereas James and Sirius found it to be hilarious. I rolled my eyes and listened to the project details.

"You and your partners will be producing a potion that forces the drinker to reveal the one thing that makes them most uncomfortable," he stated. There was a general murmuring, with a decent underlayer of panic at this news. Oh, the havoc the students could wreak with such information.

"Yes," he continued, "you will each have to consume a small dosage of the potion and record your results. You will not, however, have to list the exact details of what is stated. If you brew the potion correctly, there should be only one declaration from each recipient - it is the number of facts revealed that must be recorded, as well as any other abnormalities in the results." He allowed the class to feel a slight relief at this news before continuing.

"There are four different versions to this potion," he stated, "each more advanced than the last. You all have the chance to get a perfect score, of course, but those who brew the more complicated variants will be given bonus points based on the difficulty level."

He looked pointedly at Sirius, who was leaning back in his chair and humming under his breath, before declaring: "I advise many of you to attempt it, especially if you have more advanced partners," he then looked at Katie, who was politely listening to all that the Professor said.

"The only difference between the more advanced brews is that the more powerful it is, the deeper it will delve. I repeat that you will not have to record who says what. It is between the groups to determine what form of secrecy you choose to impose. It will be due two weeks from today." With all the rules stated, he happily declared that the rest of the class was a free period, but he advised them to begin their research.

Peter and I swung our chairs around to face our fellow Marauders, gladly engaging in a conversation with the other two.

"Can you believe it?" James was saying for the third time, "I'm with Lily Evans! For a whole two weeks!"

"Yeah, and with Snape," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Pah, that's insignificant!" He declared, grinning from ear to ear and mussing up his hair in an attempt to attract Lily's attention.

"Actually, Prongs, both Snape and Lily are brilliant at potions," I told him gently.

"So?" he stated with a frown. I sighed. Poor sop, he truly was a little slow sometimes.

"So, James, they might not really need your help, if you get what I'm saying." It was no secret to anyone that James was less than brilliant in this class. And with Snape as her partner, Lily wouldn't have to burden herself with James' inadequacy.

He gasped as understanding hit him. "Absolutely not! They won't be able to get away from _my_ help! Not when I want to do the most advanced potion!" After that declaration he shot up and marched right over to Lily, boldly telling her that they were doing the hardest potion, and that if she didn't like it, tough.

It was honestly no surprise that the girl despised him. It always amused me how quickly she deflated him, though. "I already planned on that, Potter. Why don't you have a seat and begin reading about it?" He gaped like the squid out of water before unceremoniously plopping into a chair and picking up a book.

It wasn't long before Matilda came to collect Peter, setting him to work. That left me with Sirius, which actually wasn't so bad.

"Well, Padfoot, at least this guarantee's your grade will be boosted, Katie is pretty brilliant at Potions," I said with a marauderish smirk.

"You're not so bad yourself!" he assured me. I only snorted. I was good enough to get a respectable grade, but the skill it took to brew potions did not come naturally. "Well, you're better than me," he said in correction of his earlier statement.

"Wow, good observation Padfoot," I remarked dryly.

"Hey, it's not my fault that brewing takes so much concen - whoa! Lily just slapped James across the face!" I rolled my eyes, not surprised that she had. He'd probably been picking on Snape, or something. You'd think the boy would pick his fights at more opportune moments. Apparently not.

"You know -," I started, but I was interrupted as Katie shyly approached us.

"Hi, guys," she said with a blush, "um, so I was wondering what potion you wanted to do? It doesn't matter to me . . ."

I immediately engaged her in a conversation. She was just so nervous that I had to help her out. "Why don't you have a seat? I was actually thinking we should do one of the more advanced one's, I'm sure we could pull it off, and Sirius needs the grade."

"That sounds fine with me. You just tell me what to do, and I'll do it," she said with an uncertain smile.

"No worries, Katie, I remember how well you worked last time, and we all know that no matter what potion we choose, you'll be able to pull it off," I reminded her. She giggled a little in response. "Anyway, so I was thinking we should do this one, it's not the most advanced, but it would get us enough points to really boost all our grades," I slid the potions book towards her, and she obligingly moved towards me to see it better.

We had just begun discussing the text when Sirius angrily snapped, "Hello? I'm here too. It'd be nice to consult me on _my_ opinion."

I jumped at the sound of his voice. I honestly hadn't considered his opinion. I just assumed Katie and I would be doing all the work. "I'm sorry, Pads, why don't you come up here and read over this with us?"

He jerked his head in annoyance before answering, "Actually, you two seem to have it well under control. I can tell where I'm not needed." The bell rang shortly after that and I was unable to respond.

It wasn't that big of a deal anyway. I mean, okay, I'd forgotten to discuss the project with him, but I'd just assumed he wouldn't care. Honestly, the mood swings that boy had were enough to give anyone a headache. Katie and I shared a look. She seemed a bit upset by Sirius's reaction. I just smiled at her in reassurance. After all, I didn't want her feeling upset.


	6. Chapter 5 So Not Original

**Authors note: Sorry that this is short and what not. And possibly not very good, but I did say it would be up today, so I had to stick to that. I once again ask you to point out anything you see wrong - I always appreciate it! **

**and wolfmusic. I am totally kicking your ass on the updating.**

* * *

"Oi! Moony!" I called, as the object of my hailing walked through the portrait hole, "come here and judge mine and James arm wrestling!" He rolled his eyes, but conceded readily enough. 

"So, you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked as he abandoned his bag on the floor and dropped into a chair next to me.

"What?" I asked absently, before waving my hand dismissively as remembrance hit me, "no, I forgot about that. I don't even know why it ticked me off so bad. But, anyway, James is a bloody cheater, so you've got to watch me win, okay?"

"You're not gonna win, Sirius!" James snapped in annoyance, "I've won every time!" he slammed his hands onto the wood of the table to emphasize his point. The other Gryffindors snickered at his dramatics, crowding around to see the final results.

"You have not, you wanker! I've always won in the past, I know you're cheating!" I shot back self-righteously. I always won these things. That was just The Way it Was. For James to suddenly sport manly strength was absurd. He was far too scrawny for that. Although, he_had_ been playing a lot of Quidditch . . .

"Just start the match!" Remus said irritably. I glanced up at him, catching the exhaustion in his voice. I hadn't noticed earlier how tired he looked.

I nodded curtly and snatched up James' hand, determined to overthrow him. He glared at me over his glasses, eyebrows knit together in a mixture of exasperation and amusement. I merely raised my eyebrows.

"Begin!" Remus declared. We both threw everything we had into it. This was all or nothing, and we both knew it. James was so close to having a new title among the marauders, and I was just as close to being unseated. That was unacceptable. And, anyway, now we both had a worthy audience in the form of Remus. He understood the magnitude of this match. I don't know where Peter was, though.

After a two minute stalemate of cramped fingers and clenched teeth, my hand finally began to lower. But not in the direction I'd intended. James was slowly bearing me to the wooden tabletop, and there was nothing I could do to stop the descent.

My hand hit the table with a thud.

James jumped up so enthusiastically that his chair went flying. "Yeah!" he screeched, "I beat Sirius! Six years of his tyranny, and finally he has been overthrown!" He did a merry little jig around the common room, making him look like a pixie, while I grumbled in my chair.

I turned to Moony for confirmation. "Well?" I asked hopefully. He shook his head so solemnly that you'd think my dog had just died.

I clutched my heart dramatically, for Moony's benefit, before slamming my fists onto the table, for the common rooms benefit. "Bloody hell!" I growled. "James, you are a pretender to my throne, and you shall be put back in your place!" I nodded firmly after that declaration and marched up to the dorms, noticing absently that Remus chose to stay in the common room.

* * *

I was ecstatic. I'd beaten Sirius. My gloating would be endless. I knew the git wouldn't be able to beat me, because when it came down to it, he's a lazy arse and I'm an athletic god. For the most part, anyway.

I'd given myself over to intensive Quidditch training all summer. The only reason Sirius didn't really pay attention to this was because the sod slept until noon every day. I got up early to begin my training. Basically, I was beefed up. It felt good. I wish Lily would notice . . .

Naturally, she didn't. But she did notice my obnoxious prancing about the common room. I swear, that's the only way I can get that girls attention. The only other option would be to read a book, or something, and that was just stupid.

"Aren't you proud of me, Lily?" I crooned, grinning like an idiot as I did so.

"I could hardly care about your's and Blacks little games," she responded dryly. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair as I did so. I _knew_ that made me look fetching, but she remained unaffected. Bloody girl . . .

I grumbled and left her in her chair by the fire, making my way back over to my fellow marauders. Sirius was on his way up the steps when I got there, and Moony was looking after him steadily.

"Did Sirius say something stupid?" I asked with a grin, as I reclaimed my chair next to him.

"What?" he asked with a frown, before pulling a quill and a notebook out of his bag.

"Well, you were staring after him, so I figured he must have been acting idiotic," I said, matter of factly, before, I, too, began my homework.

"Oh," he responded, "no, I mean, yeah, something about you being a git and how he was going to take over the world, or something," he said with a suspicious blush.

"That is complete bollocks, and we both know it," I stated, placing aside my quill as I did so. He continued scribbling away, before sighing and giving me his full attention.

"You're right," he said calmly, "he's planning on taking some strength booster so he can beat you next time around."

Now_ that_ I believed. "What a twat!" I said with a good-natured laugh. I was tempted to go running up there now, wake him up, and reveal my knowledge of his plotting, but I decided it would be better to get this essay done. It _was_ due tomorrow, and I knew Remus would help me. Besides, Lily was still down here . . .

* * *

_I was happily dancing away when Remus walked into the dorm, looking considerably flustered._

"_Hey, Moony, what's your problem?" I asked him, while continuing my spinning._

"_Oh, I'm just a bit frustrated with all this homework. There's no bloody way I'll be able to get it all done!" he sighed and then drooped against the wall in despair, staring out the window and into the night as he did so._

"_Now, Remus," I admonished, "that's not the prefect attitude I'm used to! You have to take this homework and wrestle it to the ground! We both know you can pull it off!" He only groaned and rubbed his forehead._

_I sighed before walking up to him. "Look, Moony, maybe all you need is a break - to give your mind a rest, so it'll be better focused later." I gripped his shoulders and forced him to look me in the eye to get my point across. I know he cares about his marks, but sometimes it's better to just let things go - for the sake of your sanity._

_He stared back up at me from his drooping position, forming a protest as soon as the words left my mouth. "But, Sirius, there's no time. I have to get this work done - if I take a break, I'll be forced to leave something unfinished." The look he was giving me was begging me to talk him out of it. Well, I'm good at that._

"_It's better that you maintain your mental health, Remus," I told him softly, gently rubbing his shoulders as I did so._

"_But, Sirius, my mental health would only be deprived for this week . . . and then we'll be at the weekend . . ." his protests were growing more and more feeble as I continued to spear him with my gaze and relax him with my massaging. _

_He finally deflated, allowing his head to fall back against the wall as he did so. "What exactly do you have in mind?" he whispered._

_I looked at his exposed neck and grinned, before gently whispering into his ear exactly what I thought would be best. "Sirius," he said with a gasp, "I don't know if that's such a good idea . . ." His protest abruptly cut off when my lips began traveling up his neck and across his cheek, gently and insistently._

_He was trembling when I finally reached his lips, and it took no encouragement on my part to have him meet my kiss with his own, desperately fierce one._

_I clutched his hips to mine with a gasp, and kissed him deeply, feeling immensely gratified by the noises he was making, and, for that matter, the ones he was drawing from me . . . _

"Sirius! Wake the bloody hell up!"

I awoke with a jerk and a desperate gasp for air when James told me, for the fifth time, that it was time to get up. I groaned and rolled over, once again both completely mortified and utterly confused by the antics of my subconscious mind.

I then reasoned that James must be waiting for my reaction, so I stretched and stood up to face him, viewing him with disdain as I did so.

"Honestly, James, it's hardly original to reuse the same prank," I said conversationally. I glanced across to Remus' bed to see if he'd experienced the same thing, but he and Peter had already gone.

"What the hell are you talking about, Sirius?" James asked irritably, before pulling on his school robes and turning towards the door.

I frowned at him. "James, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't give me a load of bollocks," I rubbed my flushed cheeks uncomfortably, not liking what I was hearing from my best mate.

"Padfoot, we're gonna be late, I don't have time for this," he replied shortly, before leaving the dorm. He sure was cranky in the morning.

I scowled after him. If he wanted to play like that, then I wouldn't give him any type of acknowledgment for his stupid prank. It wasn't even funny the second time around, anyway.


	7. Chapter 6 Uh Oh Plotting and Bitching

**Authors Note: So . . . this chapter ISN'T longer. I, in fact, stared in horror at the number of words it told me I had written. I thought it would have been so much longer! However, I find myself disinclined to make it any meatier. I know it would only bore you. I was just finding it so tedious that I needed to get the dang thing up and outta my way. So, the plot develops a little more . . . and NEXT chapter should be a bit more involved. And I'm also thinking there will be a time jump soon. I think this started at like the beginning of sixth year, and I wanna hurry the hell up to christmas break, and then summer! So. Yeah. We'll see how that goes. Don't hate me for the length! Point out mistakes, too. I'm begging you.**

* * *

"Where the bloody hell is Peter?" I grumbled in annoyance. We were gonna be late for our detention if he didn't get his arse into the room. It was the last night of self-imposed purgatory, too.

I began pacing impatiently in front of the blazing fire. It wouldn't be right to leave without him . . . but the git was taking forever.

After another ten minutes of mindlessly ambling around the room, I threw my hands into the air and declared it pointless to wait. I don't know where that kid had been going off to lately, but his absence's had been increasing dramatically. Maybe he had a bird, or, even more unlikely, other friends. I snickered to myself, he'd probably just joined some poncy club, like the Gardener's Team. Whatever.

"I'll be back later tonight," I told Sirius and Remus, who were in the middle of a game of wizard's chess, which hadn't been going so well because Sirius kept getting up and ambling away on little errands. They were into it now, both of them leaning intently over the board, and thus simply waved me away absently, with Sirius making me promise to give 'Ol' McG' a kiss for him. I laughed. If only that woman knew our pet names.

I walked miserably down the hallways towards McGonagall's office. I was bloody tired of these detentions. McGonagall decided to make up for the insufficient length of time (in her mind) by giving us a ridiculous workload. I wish Peter would have been there to join me on our final delinquents walk (and by final, I mean the last one for _this_ discrepancy), but instead I had only the sound of my miserable footsteps clicking on the stone floor to accompany me.

My thoughts naturally turned to speculation over tonights punishment, and I shuddered in horror when I remembered what it was. Peter and I had to Muggle wash all the windows in the school tonight. I hate washing windows. It makes your arms tired, and it squeaks in the most annoying way . . .

I let out a forlorn sigh when I rounded the last corner before her office, reasoning that at least with Peter there I could find some entertainment. I walked into her prim office to find said rat already seated in a plush chair, and the object of our discomfort absent.

I scowled before plopping into a chair next to him. "I waited 20 bloody minutes for your arse to show up, Wormtail. Where were you?"

He fidgeted nervously. "Sorry, James, I didn't realize you'd wait for me. I just figured you'd come straight here . . ." He looked immensely uncomfortable. So, I decided to actually apply my sense of tact, because, yes, I do have it, and let the subject drop. I planned to pick it up later, of course, because I knew the wanker was lying. He'd been up to something . . .

I chose instead to begin levitating things off McGonagall's desk, and see how many I could keep airborne at a time. I made it to thirteen when a sharp "Mr. Potter!" caused me to lose my concentration and drop them.

I cursed under my breath. Peter snickered in response.

"I would kindly like to remind you that you were interfering with my property, and that could warrant another detention. No student has the right to go poking around a Professor's desk." She frowned at me, and then Peter, making him wince.

"However," she said wearily, "I am quite as ready to be done with you as you are of me. So, shall we begin your punishment?"

I rolled my eyes and tipped my chair back down onto all four legs while Peter grabbed the glass cleaner and rags.

"Just this floor, right Professor?" I asked with my most charming grin, knowing what the answer was before she stated it. I figured it was worth a shot. I'd always thought she secretly liked my snarky attitude.

She scowled. "No, as many as you can until eleven o'clock."

"Eleven!" I repeated, outraged.

"It's a Friday night, Potter. You don't have to get up early." She promptly turned back to her papers, demanding no more protestations.

* * *

James and I were methodically scrubbing the windows in silence. It was fun, at first, because James was doing all kinds of inappropriate things to said windows (like putting his butt print up against them), but after awhile that got pretty old, and just added to the work.

I groaned and rubbed my arms. Washing windows bloody hurt!

"James, what time is it?" I muttered.

"Uh, quarter to eleven!" He did a little dance when he realized we were almost done.

He began scrubbing with new enthusiasm, before abruptly stopping with an exclamation of surprise.

"Peter," he said slowly, before turning towards me with a highly suspicious grin, "do you think that's Ravenclaw's tower, over there?" He pointed off to the right and I followed his finger.

I shrugged and told him it looked like it. The other boy laughed delightedly.

"Do you notice anything about that tower, Wormtail?"

"Um . . ." I squinted into the distance to get a better look at the stone monstrosity, before shrugging. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to me.

"The windows are all open, Pete!" he declared with a laugh.

I really didn't see what was so great about that, and I told him so.

"Peter, we're bloody wizards! We can fly!" He raised his eyebrows at me to emphasize his point.

I laughed nervously when comprehension dawned.

"So, we're gonna pull a prank, huh?" He gave me a pat on the head as a reward for my understanding. I flipped him the bird.

* * *

Sirius and I were sitting up to wait for James and Peter. The occupants of the common room were slowly dwindling away, and I knew that soon it would be just Sirius and myself.

He was sprawled out across the couch, and I was reclining on the floor in front of him, amiably discussing the stupidity of the Slytherin's Quidditch tactics.

We were just getting into how the Slytherin Keeper _always_ came out too far from the goals, when Sirius abruptly stopped the conversation to walk over to the last remaining group of students. He'd been doing that all night, as if he couldn't bear to keep his attention focused only on me.

I rolled my eyes when he haughtily told them that, no, McGonagall was not married, and, if anything, she was getting it on with Dumbledore. They laughed in response, uncertain of what they should say, before Sirius grew bored and trudged back over to me, where he began promptly tapping his feet on the wood of the couch leg.

I watched him shift subtly away from me, while keeping up the steady beating of his toes, before I finally got fed up and asked him to stop.

"Stop what?" he asked, genuinely perplexed, as his eyes shifted around the room to watch that last lonely group of students take to the stairs.

"Your incessant tapping," I snapped back, annoyed by his inattention.

"What?" he muttered, clearly not registering what I was saying to him. Now he was too busy looking at his fingernails.

I felt my eye twitch in irritation. That boy could really get to me, and I knew that if he didn't stop his tapping I was gonna explode. Naturally, the steady tempo persisted, and I finally hollered at him to shut the bloody hell up.

"What? Am I annoying the poor Moony?" he inquired mockingly, finally fixing his gaze on me and me alone. For some reason that made me uncomfortable, even though the lack of it had been frustrating me all night.

Not taking his eyes off me, he began slowly and deliberately wacking his foot against its previous target.

"Stop it, Sirius," I requested, as sternly as possible, steadfastly staring up at the ceiling as I did so. The tapping continued.

"Padfoot, come on, stop. I'm too tired to put up with this bollocks." I began grinding my teeth when the noise continued.

"Sirius, just quit," I ground out in a final whiff of exasperation.

He didn't, and for some reason that I cannot explain, that really bloody got to me. Why couldn't he just stop? The anger and annoyance I'd been harboring towards him all night finally boiled to the surface and unceremoniously exploded into his face.

"You're the most bloody infuriating git I've ever met, Sirius! Why don't you go shag some girl and get the bloody hell away from me?" I snarled, launching myself to my feet and glaring murder.

He recoiled as if hexed, before standing up as well. I knew what he'd do now. The same thing he always did when he got me successfully riled up: charm his way out of it. My shock was immense when he bit back.

"Maybe I will, Remus. At least I've shagged girls, you bloody prat!" He crossed his arms in a way I knew was defensive, but I didn't care. He was ticking me off, and had been quite a lot lately.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked in outrage. "That I'm some sort of a prude for not acting like a bloody cunt? Thanks, but I'd rather not be compared to you in that area. You'd come up a bit too lacking." I couldn't believe the way I was talking to him. I was mildly disgusted with myself, but, in some perverse way, it felt good.

"Fuck you, Remus. I actually enjoy the birds. We're beginning to wonder about you, though. Maybe you'd like to revisit James' dream?" his voice dropped menacingly at that last statement, and his face flared embarrassingly red, as he realized how that statement could backfire.

And it would backfire, because I would use that bit of ammo against him, even though it was lower than I liked to sink.

"You're one to talk, Sirius. I believe_ you're_ the one that had another dream about it." I looked him directly in the eye and reveled in his unnerved reaction.

"What are you talking about?" he asked quietly. I knew I'd hit accurately when the red drained from his face and was replaced by a sickly white.

"You know what I'm talking about. '_Oh, Remus'_," I moaned mockingly.

He looked at me in horror for a moment, before fleeing to the bedroom in a very evident panic. I fell onto the couch, still fuming, and also immensely satisfied. I'd finally been the one to get under his skin.

Too bad it took a matter of sixty seconds to make me feel like a royal prat.


	8. Chapter 7 James Takes the Fall

**Authors Note: Wow. This took way too long to get up. My bad. I hope this stupid thing is long. I always THINK it is, and that turns out to be a total fakeout. **

**Anyway, thanks for reviews! I think I replied personally to them all. Except for zchocobunnyhoweveryouspellit, since you're anonymous. I ADORE your reviews! Your absolutely hilarious, and they just brighten my day! Thanks mucho!!**

**AND Schermionie, I sent you what I typed up. Dunno if you got it or not (you probably didn't, damn these computers), but I just decided to post this anyway. So. I'm sure there are problems galore, and if you're still interested I'd still love to have you point them out!**

* * *

It was another thirty minutes before Peter and I got back to the common room, and when we arrived I was rather taken aback by what I saw. Moony was clearly agitated, pacing back and forth in front of the dying fire, rather than sitting on the couch in his usual contemplative stance.

I dredged up the calendar for the month in the back of my mind, to double check the rising of the full moon. It was still two weeks away, so I knew he wasn't in a lunar affected mood.

I wondered what the hell was wrong with him, and asked him as much before flopping down onto the couch. He didn't respond, so I decided to just leave it at that. If he wanted to pout like some mood swinging girl, then he could go right on ahead. I was assaulted enough by Lily's emotions. I didn't need it from one of my Marauders.

After sighing dismissively in Remus' direction, I turned towards Peter, who was watching said lycanthrope with a worried expression. Peter really did look concerned, so I turned back to the object of said concern with the intention of getting a better grasp on the situation.

It took a minute, but I finally realized Sirius wasn't in the room.

"Where's Padfoot, Remus?" I asked cautiously, knowing before he answered that this was the root of the problem. Sirius really was the only one that could get Moony emotional. The other boy continued pacing as if he hadn't heard me.

"He's upstairs, James," he finally answered in a rather strained voice. Remus looked completely fucked - and not in the good way. It seemed to be a mixture of him wanting to cry or go into a rage.

"Right," I agreed, "but why don't you tell me what happened before I go up there?" It was always better to get the story from Remus first. Padfoot had the tendency to leave out things that would embarrass him, or, more often, inflate the story to his advantage.

I began absently beating out a rhythm on my knees while I waited for Remus to hurry up and answer. Apparently my need to always be doing something with my hands was a rather irritating shortcoming - at least, that's what Lily said. I just try to tell her that it means I'm good with my hands, and that I like to keep them busy.

She usually slaps me, but I think she secretly likes it.

"James," he finally choked out, "we got into it - real bad." I restrained myself from saying _obviously_ and allowed him to continue, noticing that Peter was anxiously leaning forward as I did so.

"I mean . . . it was worse than usual . . . and it was over something so _stupid_ to begin with," he said hesitatingly. It wasn't like Remus to speak in such jerky sentences. I was finally beginning to get alarmed. This really wasn't just the usual Padfoot and Moony spat - one of them had really behaved like a royal prat.

"Remus," I interjected, "do I have to beat the crap out of him?" It was always Sirius doing something idiotic, so naturally I assumed he needed the beat down.

"No," Remus whispered, "you need to beat the crap out of me." He then proceeded to collapse into a nearby armchair in an utterly defeated manner.

"Moony, mate, what did you do?" I asked quietly. I reasoned that the other boy was probably overreacting. He was always obsessing over our friendship, scared to death that he would do something to mess it up. He didn't actually _say_ that, but it was understood. It was also complete bollocks, but that was beside the point.

"He had another one of _those_ dreams, James," he mumbled. I nearly choked when he said that. There was no doubt as to what dream he was referring to. After all, if it had been some horny wet dream, it wouldn't be worth this uproar.

Suddenly, this morning made so much more sense to me. I had no idea what the fuck Sirius had been talking about .

I shuddered. Poor bloke. I really had traumatized these two. It was really hard for me to decide what to say, so I sat there deliberating for a good two minutes, before Remus finally resumed his narrative.

"I didn't even mean to let him know that I knew. I mean, _I_ didn't even know if I knew . . . I just wanted to blind side him with a low blow, you know?" He didn't look at either of us as he confessed this, but instead dropped his head into his hands and repeatedly dragged his fingers across his scalp and through his hair.

"Yeah, I do know, mate," I answered softly. And I did. We all reacted that way in arguments. It was just a little more unusual coming from Remus. I switched from making a rhythm with my hands to quietly clapping them between my knees as I waited for someone to speak into the silence that had fallen over us.

"Sirius is really good at pissing you off," Peter finally chimed in. I nodded in agreement, silently commending Peter's cavalier attitude about the situation.

"He is!" Remus agreed vehemently, a shadow falling across his face even now, as he remembered their argument.

"Well, it doesn't help that he's the biggest prat in this school," Wormtail said meditatively. He glanced up at the clock after he said this, noticed that it was midnight, and let his head fall onto the back of the sofa. He did not, however, make any attempt to dose off, which gained him even more respect from me.

"Yeah," Remus agreed half-heartedly. "I just . . . fuck." Remus adopted the same stance as Peter, only he stared dully at the ceiling, whereas Peter's eyes darted all around the room.

My clapping hands increased their speed as I thought of possible solutions to the situation. I was really beginning to realize just how fucked up things could become . . .

Unless I did something about it.

An idea began to claw its way to the forefront of my mind, and it was just about to surface when Remus' monotonous voice broke my plotting.

"James, Peter," he whispered (and this time I think he really was crying), "I don't think we're going to be able to get over this one. I mean, your dream was one thing . . . but this is just . . ." He scrunched up his eyes and draped an arm across them rather than finish the sentence. We knew what words would finish it, anyway: "Weird. Sick. Disturbed." They didn't need voicing.

I took a deep breath, knowing what I needed to do. It would make me look like a fucking cunt, but it would keep the Marauders from falling apart. As long as I could keep my mouth shut about it, that was.

"Okay, Moony, look," I began miserably, "I put the dream in Sirius' head again. I wanted to see how he'd react this time . . ." I swallowed hard when Remus' head snapped up and his eyes locked on mine. He was furious. I was terrified.

"I just . . . wasn't thinking! I didn't think it would turn out like this! And I didn't want to tell you right away because I knew you'd be pissed!" I scooted into the corner of the sofa and drew my legs up as Remus advanced towards me, noticing that Peter jumped up and strategically put the couch between Remus and himself.

"James Potter!" he growled out. "You're a right miserable _git_, you know that? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I gulped and jumped over the arm of the couch, following Peter's tactic. There was no way I could explain myself - not if I wanted this to be believable. I felt my whole face heat up and sweat break out across my forehead as I realized the situation I'd plunged myself into. It honestly wasn't hard to feign my terror and pleading.

"Look," I finally managed, "it was all for laughs. At least now we know Sirius isn't . . . into you." I shuddered at those words. This was going to be the biggest secret I'd ever had to handle - almost worse than Moony's furry little problem, because I'd have to bear it alone.

The fire was completely dead now, so the only illumination was coming from a few guttering candles, making Remus look abnormally menacing. However, his anger seemed to simply be smoldering, rather than ready to burst like it did a moment ago. I think I'd hit on the key point - Sirius _not_ 'literally' dreaming about Remus.

"I could beat the shit out of you right now, James," he whispered, "but I think I'm a little too relieved. You really did put the dream in his head?" I suppose he needed the reassurance reinforced.

I looked him right in the eye before answering, "Yeah, I really did."

With a nod he went upstairs, beckoning for Peter to follow. I don't know if he completely bought what I was telling him, but right now it was something we both needed to believe in.

* * *

Breakfast the next day was a trial. No one was speaking to anyone. I'd be damned before I tried to start a conversation at that table. I was better at stuffing my mouth, anyway.

Peter and I pretty much went to bed after James' revelation. Sirius was locked up tight behind his curtains when we got there. Whether he was asleep or not is undecided, but he was most definitely not acknowledging us. In any other circumstances we would have been barraging him with insults, calling him a ninny and a coward for hiding behind his curtains. But this wasn't normal. I'd be freaking out, too, if I thought I was a poof.

We were all acutely aware of each other that morning, taking pains not to make eye contact or touch. I adamantly refused to speak to James for the time being, and Sirius bolted from the room before anyone could stop him.

I knew James hadn't had a chance to reveal to Sirius that he was guilty, but I knew it would be soon by the way he kept darting glances at the other boy.

I wasn't surprised to see that Sirius was recovering in the only way he knew how - by not drawing attention to the fact that anything was wrong. He was joking loudly with Frank Longbottom over Snivellus' mysteriously broken arm. They had all kinds of speculations for the injury, most of them involving scandalous liaisons with various livestock.

I had just finished eating when Katie shyly approached, sliding into a seat next to my own. I gave her an encouraging grin, knowing that she'd need it.

"Hey, Remus," she said with a soft smile, "I was wondering if we could get together tonight to work on our project?"

"Yes, of course!" I agreed. It was time to get started on that bit of work. I wiped my hands off thoroughly before dropping my napkin onto my plate and pushing it away, grimacing when I noticed that Peter's hands were covered in butter and jam. Instead of wiping them off like a civilized human, he began gnawing on them rather enthusiastically. I shook my head and turned back to Katie.

"I've already done some research," she admitted with a slightly more enthusiastic grin. "Lily was working on hers last night, and I happened to be in the library at the same time."

"That's wonderful!" I said, slightly ashamed of myself for not having anything to contribute yet.

"It was nothing, really."

"Sure it was! It's more than either Sirius or I has done." Her eyes slid to Sirius as I said that, and I couldn't help but follow their path. He was sitting across from me with a huge grin on his face. It was genuine. I looked around, curious for its source. I was answered in a matter of seconds, when a succession of large bangs erupted near the Slytherin table.

Sirius flung himself around along with everyone else, playing the innocent bystander to a tee. McGonagall began to rise from her chair, but Dumbledore stopped her, aware that the fireworks were harmless.

He did, however, clear his throat before mildly requesting that such activities be kept from the Great Hall.

Sirius turned around with a satisfied grin, accidentally catching my eye as he did so. Even though the smile stuttered and his eyes dimmed, he kept up a good show, asking me what I thought of _that._ James was whooping from his spot next to Sirius. It sounded a little forced to me, but it seemed to satisfy the rest of the Gryffindor gossip-mongrels. They'd been honing in on us all morning, sensing the tension.

I smiled shakily back, agreeing that it was a nice way to touch off the weekend. We sat there awkwardly, before Katie quietly asked what time we should meet tonight.

"I was thinking around three," I said mildly. It was a nice day out. This way I could spend the afternoon outside in the sunshine.

"Sounds fine," Katie murmured, before turning to Sirius. "Does that work for you?"

"Does what work? What are you talking about?" he kept his eyes on Katie. I knew he didn't want to look at me. One hand cleaned a fingernail while the other worked a toothpick between his teeth as he steadily gazed at the girl. She began to get rather red.

"We - we're going to meet to work on our potions project, in the library, at three," she finally managed to squeak out.

"Oh, can't!" Sirius said with a grin. "I'm _really_ sorry, but I've got a Quidditch briefing with James." He wasn't sorry at all, the great sod. But that was fine with me. I honestly wasn't in the mood to work with him. He was still pissing me off.

"I guess it's just you and me, then," I said with a smile as I turned back to Katie. Her red cheeks flared even brighter as she nodded and fled. When I turned back to Sirius, he was gone.

I sighed and looked across the table at Pete, the only other Marauder still present. "You want to go walk with me, Wormtail?"

"Sure, as long as it's walking. I hate it when Sirius and James try to make me race them."

* * *

I aimlessly prowled the hallways in my agitation. I was getting real sick of this shite going through my head. _I'm sixteen fucking years old. The only thing I should be concerned with is snogging some girl and my next project, _I thought angrily.

Instead I was agonizing over a fight with my best mate and tormented with disgustingly vivid dreams. I shuddered, getting pissed with the whole situation because I found the whole thing fruitless.

I leaned out one of the castle's towers, looking down at the girls passing below. I noticed Lily among them, and couldn't help but yell: "Hey, Evans! Your hair looks like a rat's nest!"

"What?" she hollered back. She didn't _quite_ catch what I said, but the look on her face implied that she could guess.

"I said you look gorgeous today!" I yelled back, deciding that it would be even funnier to see her reaction to that. She huffed and waved her hand at me, but I could tell she was smiling. _I am such the charmer._

"Are you hitting on my girl?" I heard an obnoxiously close voice ask.

"One, James, 'my' implies yours, which she's not, and, two, she'd have to be feminine for me to be hitting on her." I turned around with a smug smile, catching James in his attempt to place a mild hex on me. I rolled my eyes. He ought to know I'm wise to his tricks.

"Are you _sure_ she'd have to be feminine?" he muttered as he put his wand away. I stared at him, aghast that he'd even suggest such a thing, and planted my arse on the windowsill.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" I finally managed to get out, "I have one dream about a boy and suddenly I'm a poof! I've had dreams about your _mother_, James. They didn't get this much of an uproar. Trust me, I like boobs, Prongs." I didn't even question how he knew about the dream, which I knew prompted that statement. That was just the way of the Marauders.

"Preferably the big ones, right?" he said with a grin, holding his hands under his chest to outline a pair of huge knockers. I nodded enthusiastically while he dropped onto the ledge next to me, instantly tapping out a beat on the stone.

"Sirius," he said quietly, and without meeting my eyes, "I put that bloody dream in your head again." He looked away, continuing his little hand-on-stone tune while he waited for my reply.

"What?" I asked, utterly flabbergasted by this confession. I knew he didn't do it. I just . . . knew.

"Yeah . . . I did. Remus is super pissed about it, because he thought it was real and he used it against you, and now you two are fighting and it's all my fault, and now he feels too bad to say anything to you about it, and _you're_ not going to say anything because it was such an arsehole thing for him to do . . ." I stared at him, surprised that he had enough air in his lungs to keep that sentence going for so long. He began fidgeting as he grew increasingly impatient for my response.

"Are you going to say something or not?" he finally demanded. When I didn't respond, he turned his attention to a festering scab on the back of his hand, scraping it off as he waited for me to say something.

"Are you kidding me?" I finally demanded, more than a little annoyed that I'd been so obsessed over nothing.

"No," he said meekly, cringing as the scab began to bleed. "Are you going to kill me now?" he asked, dismissing the blood and returning his attention to me.

"No," I said thoughtfully, turning around on the ledge to stare into the grounds rather than the hallway. "It's a relief, though," I mumbled. It was still hard to believe that he'd done it, but if Prongs said so, then I had to believe him. We were best mates, after all.

"Is it really, though?" James asked sharply.

I turned to look at him, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he said, before looking at me directly. "I just want you to know, Sirius, that if that's the way you swing, then that's okay with me. We're best bloody mates, and if I can put up with all your other fucking bullshit, than I can easily accept that," he told me quietly. He held my eyes as he confessed this, wanting to reinforce the sincerity of his words.

"That's great, James," I said uncomfortably, wondering what had prompted such an announcement, "but we don't have to worry about it, since you're the one that implanted the damn dreams!"

He grinned. "Just remember that, Sirius. Okay, now that all that bollocks is out of the way, we need to talk to Remus and get the Marauders up and running. I've got a prank for those Ravenclaws."

I laughed delightedly, glad there was something to focus on other than fucked up dreams. "Well, it'll have to wait. Remus is doing our potions project with _Katie_."

James looked at me sharply again. "Is there something wrong with Katie?" he asked mildly.

"What? No. Why would there be?" Where had he gotten_ that_ idea from?

"Just wondering. Why aren't _you_ there?"

I grinned. "I had a Quidditch briefing with you, remember?"

"Of course, how could I forget?" We slung our arms around each other and made our way down the hallway, James "briefing" me on the latest standing of the pro Quidditch teams.


	9. Chapter 8 Conversations

**Authors Note: I couldn't hold myself back any longer. I'm posting away my darlings! Schermionie, we'll just do what we've been doing for this chapter, okay? Oh, and my readers, forgive me if this chapter is cliche. Once again the plot thickens! We all love that, eh? The next chapter will be a bit more eventful, so just take this one as buildup, okay? Anyhoo, there's not much more to say. So, get reading!**

* * *

"So," I began hesitantly, trying to filter through the information that had just been hurled at me, "you want to pull a prank on the Ravenclaws?" I looked at the three Animagus, who were crouched on the carpet in front of me, from my position on my bed.

"Yes!" James agreed breathlessly, bouncing on his heels as he did so.

I remained unaffected by his obvious enthusiasm, instead trying to organize the situation logically. "And you intend to do this by flying through their windows?"

"That's right!" Peter conceded with a bright-eyed nod.

"Mmm-hmm. And have you decided when you wish to launch your prank? While they're sleeping, or while they're all in classes?" All three boys sighed and arranged themselves in more comfortable positions, realizing that I was now going to analyze the situation.

They considered my question for a moment, before Sirius reasoned that it would be best to do it while the Ravenclaws were sleeping. "That way," he explained, "we won't be missed, which we would be if we did it while everyone was supposed to be in class." I nodded sagely, seeing that it was the obvious course of action.

I realized absently that a prank was just the thing to get the Marauders running smoothly again. Sirius and I had exchanged a blushing, stuttering, James-induced apology shortly after dinner, but had been unable to do more than that. Now that we were plotting, things had melted almost completely back to normal.

"There's also more risk," James said with a grin. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

"There is more risk," Sirius agreed with a nod, "but we'll also have the protection of the Invisibility Cloak."

"Ah, but there's the problem," I interjected, "there's no possible way we could hit all the Ravenclaws if we all stayed together under the cloak."

"We have to do it separately," James agreed, chewing on a fingernail as he considered this.

"But how're we supposed to do that?" Peter questioned, slightly alarmed by the danger of discovery. James raised his eyebrows at me in question before leaning forward to tickle Peter's ear, causing him to flap his hands about wildly in an attempt to shoo away what he thought was a bug.

"Well, I suppose we could craft an Aversion Charm," I answered thoughtfully, stifling my snickers as James got away with his little bout of torment.

"I don't know what the hell that is, but it sounds great," Sirius said with a toothy grin.

I returned it. "An Aversion Charm, simply put, directs the viewers gaze to another object. So, basically, if anyone wakes up and tries to look at us, their eyes will be diverted to something else."

"Brilliant!" James declared, leaning forward eagerly as he did so. "Do you know how to do it?"

"No," I answered simply, chuckling as he instantly deflated. "But I guess I can figure it out. Which leads me to my next question: When are we launching this attack?"

"Soon," James said. "We've been in school for over a month and haven't done anything noteworthy. People are beginning to complain." James leaned forward and tickled the back of Peter's ear once more, grinning widely when the other boy slapped the side of his head in an attempt to stave off the tingling. Sirius and I both looked at each other with equal grins of indulgent amusement at James antics.

"We could spin that to our advantage, though," Sirius commented meditatively, "and build the suspense." He raised an eyebrow at James, who, after turning away from Peter to face him, raised two in return. I noted the silent agreement that passed between the two and decided to build off it.

"So, we're going to use, say, the next week to advertise a coming prank, and then facilitate our plot this weekend?" I began humming the school theme song, grinning when James instantly picked up the beat with his constantly tapping fingers.

Peter, who had been steadfastly devouring a hunk of licorice, noted that it would be more prudent to work our magic on a school night. "That way," he said, "we run less of a risk of anyone staying up late."

"Good point, Pete," James agreed, patting him on the back affectionately as he did so.

"Yeah, I do come up with those every now and then," he grumbled back. The other boys didn't notice, though.

I frowned thoughtfully, reminding myself to have a talk with Peter later. He'd been acting odd lately.

"Oh, and Sirius and I will be crafting some bottomless bags, as well. That way we won't be loaded down with all the goods." I nodded in agreement and watched in amusement as James leaned forward to harass Peter's ear again. This time, however, the other boy snatched his hand and gave it a sharp pinch.

"Oi!" James yelped, throwing himself onto Peter as Sirius whooped and jumped onto his bed, egging them on enthusiastically.

I was surprised when _James_ jumped up with an indignant squeal, accusing Peter of employing dirty tricks. Prongs seemed nonplused, though, for his grin was as exuberant as ever. That boy does like a good fight.

"I'm gonna get you for that one, Wormy," he growled past his grin, as he triumphantly stalked a fleeing Peter out of the dorm room.

"So I guess all our plans are done, then, James?" I yelled after him.

"Yup! The mischiefs been managed!" he hollered up the stairs.

I turned to Sirius, laughing along with him when the common room burst into an uproarious clamor with our two favorite boys leading the yelling.

I was about to head down the steps, eager to see the brawl, when Sirius stopped me with a tentative hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Remus," he said, meeting my eyes meaningfully, "we're okay, right?"

I had to look at him for a moment to really grasp the sincerity of the question - sometimes it was hard to tell when Sirius was just fucking with your head. After a moments hesitation I placed my own scarred hand over his callused one. "Yeah, Sirius, we're okay."

He let out one of his trademark grins and clapped me on the back. "Those Ravenclaws are going to go mental by the time we're done with them," he declared jubilantly, sliding back into our usual banter.

"I couldn't agree more," I said with a chuckle. "Now let's go watch James and Pete beat the crap out of each other."

"I bet you two sickles that James beats Peter's arse in," Sirius said with a waggle of the eyebrows.

"You're on, mate." Somehow I thought Wormtail actually stood a chance, this time. That boy was beginning to get suspiciously devious. I guess that'll happen to you after prolonged exposure to Prongs and Padfoot.

* * *

I sighed and began tapping my foot impatiently as Remus and Katie began another philosophical discussion on the employment of our potions project.

"Honestly," I finally snapped, "there is _no_ point to this potion. No matter how much you try to analyze and categorize the bloody thing, it will still remain a fact that no one gives a shit about what makes you the most uncomfortable. Slughorn just makes us brew it because it's complicated as fuck."

I tilted my chair back and glared at the two scholars seated across from me. I'd come here to help Remus research the Aversion charm, and had instead gotten roped into a study session. The two had already met earlier that day, making it immensely unnecessary to be sitting here again. However, Miss Katie had stumbled across a fairly complex sequence of directions, and had hunted Remus down for his input.

And of course I had to stay, because they reminded me of the fact of how pissed I got about them leaving me out last time. Now I was even more pissed for getting pissed in the first place. This shit sucked.

It didn't help that the two of them were having a jolly good time discussing the components of the potion - as if it was something exciting. I'd been primarily glaring, tapping, and crossing my arms the whole time, while Remus continued to shoot me looks that said: _'stop it, you're going to make Katie uncomfortable.'_

As if how Katie felt mattered. I don't know why he was so concerned with considering her feelings. Unless he wanted to snog the bird. Which, now that I looked at him, he probably did. And that only served to piss me off more, because I did not need another James reminiscent crush on an unattainable girl, which would surely be the case between these two.

Although, Katie was shooting him rather telling looks. Maybe she did fancy him. Of course, that was bollocks, too, because then I'd have to deal with a _relationship_, and those were all complete crap. They always ended, after all.

_Whoa, Sirius,_ I thought in slight shock, _bitter much?_ I shook my head at myself and firmly refused to continue thinking such thoughts about my best mate. Just because I thought everything related to females was absolute arse- fucked bullshit, didn't mean I should be so vehemently protesting a chance for Remus to have some fun. It still _pissed_ me off, though.

_Deep breath, Sirius. Deep breath. Calm the fuck down and attend to the conversation, _I told myself in disgust. I would not be spiteful.

" . . . you're not even listening to me, are you, Sirius?" Remus asked with a role of the eyes to Katie. She gave him a blushing little smile in return, pleased to be included in the exchange. I felt my eye twitch in response, but suppressed it savagely, choosing instead to grin at Remus in what he liked to call my '_of course_ I am . . . not' smile.

"Not a word, Moony. But you have my full attention now, so lecture away." I waved my hand grandly in indication for him to repeat himself, knowing that he knew I was paying attention_ now._

"Well, this potion _does_ have its uses, even if it was more productive about one hundred years ago." He raised an eyebrow at me, desiring a reaction. I decided I'd give him a jolly one.

"Oh, _do_ continue, Remus. I am so thoroughly intrigued as to how this complex potion could be employed." I don't think he appreciated my sing-song voice, but he continued nonetheless. Katie laughed, though. Maybe she was alright, for a bird. Maybe.

"Well, back when the purebloods would hold their version of a court, they'd slip this potion into their guests drinks and use the information garnered as a form of blackmail. It was really quite effective."

"Huh," I said, dropping my chair back down to four legs as I thought about this. "That's how Amelia Ostenbough found out her husband was secretly having an affair with Usten Vestleden, right?"

"Yeah, you are right, Padfoot. You always take me off guard by the information you actually retain," he said, shooting Katie a grin as he did so.

I shrugged. "That story always stuck with me. It changed a lot of views in the wizarding world." The affair was a famous one, since it was the first public scale homosexual pureblood scandal. It was also a wonderful way for pureblood families to ensure that their children remained heterosexual. Amelia had snapped once she found out what had been going on between her husband and his supposed best mate.

After public humiliation and disgrace, the two men were found poisoned in their homes. No one condemned Amelia for what they considered the purging of impurity. However, it did start the more liberal minded to begin considering what was truly unnatural, and eventually led to the more lenient (but by no means easily accepting) view that wizards held on the matter today.

"Huh," Remus said thoughtfully, staring at Sirius oddly, "I didn't know it concerned you."

"It's really mature of you, though," Katie spoke up admiringly. I knew she was being accepting and supportive, but it only served to annoy me.

I shrugged impatiently and uncomfortably, before putting on another falsely beaming smile. "Hey, who'm I to deny anyone happiness? My philosophy is do whatever the fuck you want - so long as you enjoy it."

Remus was still looking at me oddly enough for me to avoid his gaze. I knew that look - he was reading too much into things. I didn't want to have to sit through what he thought he'd deduced from the situation.

"Look, guys," I finally said, deciding to change the subject, "I'm bollocks at this potions crap. You know I am. So why don't you give me a list of everything we need, and I'll take care of that? This way I'll actually be contributing." I didn't feel like sitting through these study sessions anyway. I wasn't going to tell them that, though, although I'm sure Remus knew it.

"Oh, sure," Remus said, taking my change of subject in stride. I was prone to it, after all. "Here's the list, I guess just let me know if you need help."

It was clearly my cue to leave. I was tempted to stay and grind my bitterness into their faces, but decided that would be ridiculously childish. Like I'd said: Who'm I to deny others their happiness?

I got up and left.

* * *

I wasn't really surprised when Remus approached me in the common room to inquire what I'd been up to lately. I knew it'd be him to question it. I didn't doubt that James, and possibly Sirius, had noticed, but I knew they wouldn't be the ones digging. However, even though I knew it'd be coming, I'd been unable to really prepare myself.

I got a little defensive when he got a little inquisitive

"Remus," I mumbled, "I'm my own person. It doesn't matter what I've been doing." I'd be the first person to tell you that I'm not the brightest wand in the drawer, but that statement was a little stupid even for me. I should have known how Remus was going to respond.

"Peter, don't think for a minute that you don't matter to me, James, and Sirius. I'm not judging or accusing you of anything. We're just concerned, that's all." He leaned forward from his position on the floor to convey his sincerity. It was unnecessary coming from Remus - of course I knew he meant it.

Of course, that made me feel pretty guilty about what I _had_ been doing lately, which in turn made me a little more edgy. I guess sometimes I forget that I really do matter to the other Marauders. It takes a bit of nudging from Moony to remind me.

I sighed, relenting. "I've only been having a bit of fun with some other students," I revealed to him with an uncomfortable shrug. Why'd it have to be Remus talking to me? He'd always been able to make me feel bad.

"Do you like your other friends more than us now?" Remus asked quietly. He wasn't judging me, and that made it worse. Stupid werewolf was being infuriatingly accepting.

"No," I snapped. I responded too quickly - which I knew Remus caught - because he wasn't too far from the mark. The others just acknowledged me more. A sudden thought made me panic slightly. "That's not what James thinks, is it? James doesn't think that, right?"

Moony picked up on the anxiety in my voice and responded calmly that, no, James was certain of my loyalty. Prongs had no doubts that he'd always be my most important mate. I couldn't meet Remus' eyes, but I knew he was maintaining an intense focus on my face. I gauged his opinion of my reactions through quick, darting glances at his face. It didn't do me much good, though. Sirius was the only one that could really decipher the other boys expressions.

"James, and Sirius, for that matter, are just worried that they're driving you away, or upsetting you," Remus confided in me. That made me feel pretty bad. I didn't want them thinking that. I mean, yeah, they kind of pissed me of a lot, but it was usually my fault . . .

"They do upset me sometimes, Remus," I admitted, "but I'd never abandon the Marauders."

"You're just having some fun with other people who aren't gonna make fun of you for it, right?" he asked me quietly. I shrugged noncommittally. We both knew he was right.

"You know," he mumbled meditatively, "I understand. Sometimes it's easier to be around people you aren't so close to. That way you won't always be concerned with upsetting them, or looking like a fool, or losing their respect. You're not as concerned with the way other people think of you as you are of the way your best mates do. It's just _easier_ to be around people who aren't so close to your heart."

Now I was able to look Remus in the eye, because what he said was so undeniably accurate. I wasn't nearly as concerned with the way these new people thought of me, because, frankly, they didn't matter to me as much as the Marauders. But it was so much more relaxing, in a way, to be around them, because I wasn't exerting as much effort to look good.

It was just easier, like Moony'd said, to keep hanging out with them. It just made everything so much simpler . . .

"As long as you're having fun with them, you should go ahead and keep it up. And I'm not going to ask anything more than that," he told me with a smile after he'd shaken himself out of his reverie.

"Well, we do have fun. So, it's pretty good. Thanks for actually understanding, Moony," I told him quietly.

He waved my thanks away with a smile, before levering himself up to plop onto the couch with me. "You wanna here something cool that happened to me today?" he asked with an impish grin.

"Yeah," I said with my own hooded smile, "what?"

His grin spread so wide that it nearly cracked his face. "Well, you know that girl Katie I have that potions project with?"

"Yes," I said, intrigued.

"She told me that she liked me today. And I like her, too," he told me with a pleased little blush across his cheeks.

I clapped my hands in genuine pleasure. "That's great! Are you two, like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?" I asked excitedly.

"Of course!" he said with a laugh, "you think I'd let that chance go?"

I whooped and gave him a quick hug, grinning wider myself when he told me I was the first to know. Remus always tried to include me like that.

I'd have to keep reminding myself of it, and quit letting Regulus Black and his mates try and convince me otherwise.


	10. Chapter 9 Down with the Ravenclaws!

**Authors NOTE: BAM! This is the longest chapter yet! I apologize for it not being particularly yummy . . . but I'll be making up for that in the next chapter, where another dream will take place! I know, now you're going to be tortured as you wait for the next installment, but I promise not to make you wait terribly long! **

**Oh, and I'm hoping this chapter is funny enough that you won't care that it's got almost no Sirius/Remus action. However, there are some interesting insights made . . . **

**And, well, it's a plot developer. So, shoot me.**

**No, don't shoot me. Just read and enjoy!**

* * *

"Well damn, Moony! It's about time!" James cried exuberantly, leaning forward to clap me on the back as he did so. I grinned bashfully in response, waving away his overexcited congratulations.

"So, when's your first date, then?" Sirius asked. He, too, was grinning, although his happiness for me was more tactfully subdued than James'.

"Well, obviously I'll be taking her to Hogsmeade when that rolls around," I said with a smile that would not go away. "But we'll be getting together before then."

"Yeah, of course," Sirius said with a wicked smirk, "to study." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, while James made some rude gestures from his spot beside Sirius on the sofa.

I glared at the two of them. "Unlike you two, I actually find _conversation_ to be intellectually stimulating. I like to, you know, build relationships based off more things than snogging and shagging," I informed them with slight reproach.

They rolled their eyes at each other before responding. "In my defense," James declared, "I want to save all my intellectual prowess for the dear Lily Evans. It would be traitorous for me to build a relationship with anyone other than her."

"And is this what you tell the birds you hook up with?" I asked with a smirk of my own.

"Everyone knows that there's only one girl for me. When a bird and I hook up, they know it's just that. I'm not a complete twat, thank you," he replied, sticking his tongue out at me as he did so.

"Besides," Sirius interjected, "he's fetching enough that all the birds care about _is_ the hook up. You know, so they can say they were with one smashing bloke. Literally," he said with a snicker. I rolled my eyes this time.

"If that's your argument for James, then what's your argument for yourself?" I asked of Sirius, waggling my own eyebrows at him.

"Who says I can't use the same reason for myself? The girls are content to simply spend some time with my oh-so-dashing self. No strings attached," he said with a shrug and a grin for James.

"That is such bollocks," I declared. "How do you expect to ever have anything meaningful with anyone if you won't allow those strings to _get_ attached?" I questioned him. He groaned and slumped back against the sofa, familiar with this argument by now.

James merely tapped out a beat with his feet while he snickered at my grilling of Sirius.

"I do have something meaningful," he finally announced. "With ol' Prongs, Wormtail, and you, Moony. That's quite enough for me, thank you."

"We're hardly as fulfilling as a girl would be, though," I reminded him.

James nodded his agreement. "Yeah, mate, I know you love us and all . . . but a bird would be way better than us, don't you think?" Prongs asked him earnestly, leaning forward to emphasize his point as he did so. He'd grown attentive enough to the conversation to stop his tapping.

Sirius' face clouded into a severe frown as something passed between James and himself. Some sort of question understood by the two of them but unfathomable to me. I couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with certain earlier events, though.

"Fuck birds!" Sirius finally shouted, uncomfortable with the conversation. I could tell he was because he'd crossed his arms. "Just because Remus has a girlfriend doesn't mean I need one. We've already got his girl and James' obsession. We don't need me to add to the infiltration of the Marauders." He huffed and turned his head away from the both of us to stare into the fire.

So _that's_ what was bothering him. I caught James' eye as both of us realized the same thing: that Sirius felt our friendship was threatened by my having a girlfriend. James seemed unusually relieved by this.

Having a girlfriend was a new thing for us. After all, neither James nor Sirius was ever very serious about any girl - James because of Lily and Sirius because he was Sirius - and Peter had never had anything much to do with females.

"Padfoot, I hardly think Katie is interested in our antics," I finally told him with a reassuring smile. "She's not going to do anything to get in between the Marauders."

"Yeah, except demand your time and attention and likely complain about our immoral pranks. She's a fucking female. All they do is bitch." The scowl had not left his face.

"He does have a point there," James said with a cheeky grin. I assumed he was only agreeing with the bitching part. Otherwise he _seemed_ far more receptive to my dating Katie than Sirius.

"Glad to know someone's on my side," Sirius grumbled.

"Not really, mate. I think it's bloody brilliant that Remus has snagged a bird. Fuck the attention she'll demand. We'll just set up joint custody." He grinned at his own joke as Sirius moaned pitifully.

"Some best friend you are," he muttered.

"Look, Sirius, if you're really not okay with me dating Katie . . ." I started, but he cut me off before I could finish.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I think it's great! It's brilliant. I would have been fine if you two hadn't started in on me about getting a girl of my own, for Merlin's sake!"

"Blimey, alright," James said, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "we won't bring it up again! Now stop bitching because you're starting to sound like a bird!" Sirius leaned over and punched him, though he was grinning when he did so.

"Oi!" James yelped. "That hurt, you twat!" He promptly tackled Sirius to the floor in retaliation, narrowly missing me as he did so. I scooted away and haggled the two of them instead of joining in. None of the other occupants of the room needed to know I could trounce the two of them. That would seem a _bit _suspicious.

However, when Sirius had James in such a firm headlock that the other boy was begging me for aid, I couldn't help but intervene. Just a bit. I tickled Sirius until he was forced to let go. James joined in, and we mercilessly attacked Sirius until he was red in the face from laughing so hard.

I collapsed onto the floor next to Sirius, laughing just as hard myself. I usually didn't partake in their public brawls, but the common room was deserted enough that we wouldn't cause too much of a commotion. Or so I thought.

"Are you quite finished?" I looked up and into the face of the owner of the pert voice and merely raised my eyebrow in response to her question. She sniffed disdainfully in my direction, but I knew I was spared her wrath by the glint in her eye.

"Lily!" James yelped. "Uh, what're you up to?" he asked stupidly, running his fingers through his hair as he did so. He was swallowing hard as he tried to regain his normally suave composure (or as much of it as possible when sprawled out across the floor), something I'm sure Lily found highly amusing.

"Well, I was attempting to write an essay with Alice. However, I was rudely interrupted by your childish antics." She crossed her arms and glared down at him.

"You mean you watched the fight?" James asked excitedly.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. I looked at Sirius and shared a grin with him. Only James . . .

"I'm giving you and Black a detention for it," she declared.

"What?" Sirius yelled, but he was cut off by James' continued daze.

"So you did see it, then?" he asked again, nodding his head excitedly as he tried to coach her into the affirmative answer.

"Yes, I did. And you're right. You did start it. Just you get the detention. Tomorrow night." She turned her nose up to the air and resumed her study session with Alice.

It took James a minute to respond to her punishment. "Wait a minute," he said slowly, "I didn't say I started it . . . and . . ." He turned to glare at Lily, looking both hurt and flattered at the same time, before yelling: "I didn't start it, either!" She didn't even turn to look at him, but I caught the smile that twitched her lips.

"She must have only given me the detention because she likes me," James finally decided.

Sirius and I looked at each other before choking back guffaws. "And how did you deduce that?" I asked, motioning for Sirius not to burst out laughing.

"Well, think about it," he said, "she was gonna give it to the both of us, and then I talked to her and she gave it to just me." He shrugged, as if that explained it all.

"I'm thinking about it," Sirius said with a grin, "but I'm still not grasping your logic."

"She's teasing me, or something!" James declared with a wave of his hands.

"You sure do know the way of women, Prongs," I declared, finally surrendering to the bubble of mirth boiling in my belly. Sirius quickly followed suit.

"Honestly, you two, I refuse to be insulted. You're both being deliberately obtuse." He looked over at Lily contemplatively. "I don't get why she plays these games with me, though." He sat up and drew a deep breath before yelling: "Why won't you just go out with me, Lily Flower? You know you want to!" She flipped him the bird, but a grin still forced its way onto her face.

"See, mates? I saw her grin. I'm getting closer to winning her!" He punched the air in delight while Sirius and I continued our laughing.

"James," I finally gasped out, "you're about as close to dating her as I am to dating Padfoot." I was laughing so hard that I didn't realize Sirius had stopped, or that James looked distinctly uncomfortable.

* * *

My breath hitched in excitement when my three Marauders assembled before me, looking distinctly sleuth-like. This was going to be a prank worthy of our reputations. I couldn't wait to fulfill it.

"Men," I queried, "are you prepared for the task set before you?" I crossed my arms and surveyed them each as I awaited their response. Sirius had dressed himself in all black and tightfitting clothing, with a black wool cap over his hair. I thought the hat was unnecessary, seeing as how it was the same color as his hair and didn't camouflage anything, but when I said as much he haughtily declared it was a necessary part of the outfit. When questioned where he discovered said outfit, he revealed he'd come across it in a muggle magazine. We'd all had a good laugh before getting down to business.

Peter and Remus weren't dressed spectactularly, but they both had a tension around them that spoke of eager anticipation. I approved of this attitude.

"Yes," they finally chorused solemnly. I noticed that they were all three trying to hold back snickers. I observed this with disdain before continuing.

"And will you perform said task with the utmost integrity and skill?"

"Yes," they repeated.

"And do you promise to sell me your souls at the end of said task?" It was a needed part of the ritual. I swear.

Sirius immediately dropped to his knees and declared his undying loyalty, so long as he didn't have to do a damn thing and I agreed that he was the most fetching of us all. I expected Peter to follow suit, but was surprised when he remained upright. I silently applauded the other boy.

Remus stood where he was and chuckled affectionately at our antics, before observing that it was probably time to get started.

"Right," I agreed. "Due to unforseen difficulties, I was only able to acquire two brooms. That being the case, Peter will be riding with me and Remus with Sirius." The difficulties came in the form of a Miss Lily Evans, who caught me outside the Quidditch shed. When I explained to her that, as Captain, I had a right to be there, she declared that Captain or not, it was still school property. I finally got her to allow me to remove mine and Sirius' brooms, seeing as how they were undeniably our property. She didn't like that one bit, so I offered to take her on a ride. She slapped me.

There were no complaints about the riding arrangements. I didn't expect there to be. Sirius wouldn't have wanted to ride with me because the two of us would have gotten into a row over who'd be steering, and I suspected Peter would have preferred riding with me as opposed to Sirius.

We took off from our dormitory window, with Wormtail and me taking the lead. I closed my eyes as I reveled in the feeling of forbidden flight, listening as our clothing flapped in the wind, accompanied only by the sound of crickets serenading the moon. The night air was rather cool, but hadn't quite yet developed into the stinging wind of winter, for which I was grateful.

I surveyed the grounds as we zipped around the various buildings located throughout Hogwarts. All was undisturbed. I detected no sign of movement, save that of moonlight rippling along the grass when the wind blew.

I felt deep in my bones that this was a night for pranking. It caused me to grin a grin that remained on my face until we landed on the window ledge of the highest floor of the Ravenclaw tower.

The plan was to work our way from the top of the boys' section on down, and then work our way back to the top, where we'd take off, from the girls'. We remained where we were until Remus cast the Aversion Charm, something we'd decided to put off until the last possible moment so we could use it for the maximum length of time.

Once he'd efficiently, and silently, cast the charm, we all stepped quietly off the ledge and into the dorm. It was here that I handed out the bags, before shooing the other three on their way. Each of us were to take a separate floor, so that we could cover them all in the least amount of time possible.

I cringed when Sirius tripped over a stack of books on his way out, but was relieved when Remus cast a speedy cushioning charm. I should have known I could count on my troops to divert disaster.

Once they'd gone, I surveyed the silent room by what little light was available to me by the moon. Its six occupants were all deeply asleep, two with closed curtains and the rest sprawled unceremoniously across their respective beds. It was interesting to see that, despite the color scheme and over abundance of books, the dorm was quite the same as ours, complete with Quidditch posters and mounds of dirty clothes.

I snorted in amusement at this observation before drawing a deep breath and whispering: "_Accio_ shoes and socks!" I braced myself for the impact of six boys' worth of footwear, and was thankful for doing so when they hurled themselves into my bag. Thank Merlin there was little noise.

Since the other Marauders were ahead of me, they ended up beating me to the remaining three floors. I bypassed each room and emerged in their common room, where I set up a dung bomb to be activated when I commanded. It was the most powerful bomb I'd created yet, designed to permeate every pore of the Ravenclaw tower. If our sneaking around didn't wake the occupants of the tower, then the stench most certainly would.

I snickered and began working on the female side of the tower, shooing Peter away when he poked his head in to see if anyone was already at work.

I let out a muffled "Oomf" when the girls' shoes flew into my bag. They sure did have a lot more than the men. Of course, the First Years were nothing compared to the Seventh Years, whose floor I also took care of. Seven girls occupied this room, and the amount of footwear was proportionate to their number. Which means there was a fucking shit load.

These made quite a considerable amount of noise, and I was prepared to do some really smooth talking when one of the girls sat up in bed. I slithered into a corner, hoping the shadows would aid the effects of the Aversion Charm.

She cast a _Lumos_ with her wand and squinted in my direction, rubbing her eyes as she did so. After a moment she lay back down with a grumble. I slowly released the breath I'd been holding, and waited a few minutes for sleep to reclaim her.

After that heart pounding minute of panic I sat on the ledge and waited a few moments for the other three to enter, Summoning the brooms, which we'd left on the ledge of the boys' window, as I did so. Peter was the first to show, followed a few minutes later by Sirius. We ended up waiting longer than intended for Remus, during which time I got increasingly antsy. That girl was rolling around in her bed quite a bit.

The other boy finally appeared, grinning cheekily as he did so. Without a word he stepped onto the ledge and next to Sirius in clear indication that he was ready to go. I wondered suspiciously what he'd been up to, but decided it'd be best to find that out once we were safely ensconced in our own beds.

We were just about to take flight when I whispered, "One moment," before turning around and flicking my wand over my shoulder. All three of them saw a blue spark zoom out of the tip and down the stairs.

They gave me a look that said: "I should have known," before grinning and launching back into the night.

* * *

The four of us decided we should be early to breakfast this morning. And, by early, that meant the first ones in the Great Hall. We didn't want to miss seeing the entrance of the Ravenclaws.

Sure, being so early made us look immensely suspicious, but there was no proof that we'd done anything. Sirius and James had wanted to write "Courtesy of the Marauders" on the outside of the tower, but I'd adamantly refused them that privilege. People would know who'd done it without us declaring it. I wasn't going to get a detention when it could be avoided.

Merlin, last night had been brilliant. We'd all been eagerly awaiting it since we'd planned it. I chuckled when I thought of Sirius buying an outfit for the occasion. It had been such a ridiculous outfit, too! If anything, it made him more suspicious. And did it have to be so unnecessarily tight? Imagine if he'd woken up one of the girls! They would have thought he was going to rape them, or something. Of course, he did look fetching enough for them to let him have their way with him . . .

But, still. It was ridiculous. Honestly, Sirius and his notions. I shook my head and waited for our public to begin arriving.

It wasn't long before people began trickling into the Hall. Frank Longbottom was the first one to greet us, wearing a huge grin that indicated he knew full well who the perpetrators were.

"Did you lot hear what happened last night?" he asked, as custom demanded it.

"Why, no," James said with wide eyes, looking at first Peter, and then Sirius and myself to see if we had, either. We all shook our heads, though our grins belied our negation.

"Well," Frank said conspiratorially, "somehow all the Ravenclaws ended up outside their tower last night."

"All night? How come?" Sirius asked with mock sympathy, wrestling the grin off his face as he did so.

"Yeah, all night. Apparently there was a horrid stench throughout the whole tower. The only way they could get away was to camp out in the hallway." Sirius let out a barking laugh as Peter and I turned towards James. He'd remained moot on the intentions of his blue spark. There was no doubt that the stink bomb was his doing. They were his specialty.

"Surely the smell didn't last that long?" Peter queried, genuinely confused on this bit of information.

"Well, that's what they reasoned, too. But when they tried to get back into their tower, they couldn't get the door open!" Frank said with a delighted chuckle.

"And why's that?" I asked with a grin that said I knew exactly why. James laughed delightedly as comprehension dawned.

"Well, apparently the way they enter their tower is by answering a question. For some reason not a single one of them could answer said question. They were locked out of their tower all night because of it." Sirius clapped me on the back in appreciation of my contribution, while Peter applauded me from across the table as they put together the puzzle and realized it must have been me that orchestrated said prank.

"But they did finally get in?" I asked with a smile.

"They broke down and asked Dumbledore to crack the question. He was delighted to oblige. However," Frank said with a sly grin, "when they were finally admitted to their tower to get ready for lessons, all occupants were unable to find both shoes and socks. They've been forced to walk around barefoot."

James was laughing so hard that he was pounding his fist into the table. "Oh Merlin," he declared, "that's just so fucking funny! It sounds like they had a really rough night!" As if to confirm this statement, the first group of Ravenclaws came stumbling into the Hall, every one of which with bare feet and heavy eyes.

"They bloody well did!" Frank agreed with a laugh.

I silently applauded our brilliance as James and Sirius began haggling the Ravenclaws from their spot at our table. I rolled my eyes and waited for my food to arrive, waving goodbye to Frank as he went to sit with Alice.

"So, Mister Moony," James asked from across the table, "what was the question?"

"What is the question?" I stated simply. It took a moment, but once they realized that it made no sense, they erupted into even more table banging laughter.


	11. Chapter 10 Uncomfortable

**Authors Note: I'm particularly Proud of this chapter. I dunno why. I guess it's just because I got some great new reviewers that made me especially eager to get this next chapter up. I really want you guys to enjoy this story. I know I am. I'm quite shocked by how long this chapter is, too (why am I always talking about length?). It's the longest yet. By 2000 words. Go me! Anyway. Read and Enjoy. And review if it strikes your fancy. The next chapter is plotted out - hopefully it won't take as long to get up.**

**WhatWouldMrsWeasleyDo I'm sorry! But i couldn't bear to wait another moment. It's not like you take long, either - i just wanted to post it as soon as I finished! Next chapter you get to review ahead of time, no worries. :-)**

* * *

I glared at Katie in annoyance as Remus stood with his arms around her. When had they even progressed to the cuddling stage? Didn't they just start dating a few days ago? I rolled my eyes. Relationships were so . . . gooey.

"Is there a problem, Padfoot?" Remus queried with a raised eyebrow. I didn't bother to answer. He knew what I was thinking: relationships were for brainwashed teenagers fixated on the stereotypes of society.

Honestly, why was everyone so concerned with being in a relationship when a shag was just as good? If everyone would just shut up and admit that, yes, they were only interested bodies, then we could just skip all this gag-inducing romance and get on with it.

I let all my annoyance out with a sigh and burst into a grin as I realized we'd finished our potion. "Merlin, it's about time that bloody thing is done. Do you have any idea how much a pain in my arse it was to track down those ingredients?"

"Do you have any idea how much it was a pain in our arse's to brew it?" Remus countered.

I snorted. "Your effort was nothing compared to mine. I lost sleep contemplating how I should obtain such elusive ingredients."

"Oh, please. It's more likely you lost galleons," Remus remarked with a smirk.

I gasped in mock indignation. "Remus, do you honestly think that I put no more effort into this potion than a trip to Hogsmeade?"

"Yes," he answered blandly.

"Well. Actually, yeah, you're right," I said with a shrug and an easy grin. He threw his quill at me.

"Wait," Katie interjected with a shy and perplexed smile, "how'd you get to Hogsmeade? Did one of the teachers give you a pass?" She twisted around in Remus' arms to look questioningly into his face. He grinned at her before glancing at me.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," I advised her with a patronizing smile. I was proud of myself for refraining from what I really wanted to tell her: shut up and quit interrupting the men.

Remus shot me a glare, angry with me for my tone. Katie blushed deeply and snapped her mouth shut.

I relented with a sigh. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to know how I got that pass to Hogsmeade. It involved a lot of wily seduction and witty rhetoric. It would leave you emotionally scarred," I informed her with an amiable tone of voice and waggling eyebrows. She didn't need to know that I'd gotten to Hogsmeade the Marauder's way. Let her think it took a teachers note. It was fun to tease her about it, anyway.

She giggled and relaxed back into Remus' arms, though her blush darkened at my comment. I grudgingly decided that I could have some fun with the girl, at least. She was easy to embarrass.

"I suggest we get on with it and drink this potion," Remus finally declared with a martyred sigh. None of us were particularly eager to reveal what made us most uncomfortable. Even if ours wasn't the absolute strongest (like James' was), it was still strong enough to go pretty deep.

I shrugged, deciding that if it had to be done I might as well do it. After all, I was the mighty Sirius Black. Whatever that concoction revealed I would take in stride. No problem.

I picked up my vial and downed it in one gulp, ignoring the anxious stares of Remus and Katie. Nothing happened until Katie finally thought to ask it as a question.

My throat constricted as an answer was forced out: "My longings." Remus' eyebrows shot up and Katie's cheeks flared again. I presented a nonchalant appearance, although inwardly I recoiled.

Why would my longings make me uncomfortable? They were pretty straightforward: good career, strong friendships, and even stronger magic. And girls. Of course. Right? I shoved the thought away violently, not willing - or unable - to face it, and answered the look my audience was giving me.

"Well, it only makes sense," I remarked with snarky grin, choosing to go with the horny teenager explanation, "after all, my longings could make me pretty uncomfortable in many situations." I glanced pointedly at my groin before continuing. "Could you imagine during class . . . ?"

Remus groaned in annoyance as Katie hid her flaming face in her hands - though she did seem rather amused. "Wow, Padfoot," Remus said with a shake of his head, "you're really not deep at all, are you?"

I shook my own head, unable to muster a rebuff. For some reason his comment bothered me. It disappointed me that he so easily accepted my explanation. He should have known better. I shook it off with a shrug, though, because I was just as unwilling to examine the true meaning of my "longings." I didn't want to deal with it.

Remus neatly recorded my answer before swallowing the potion himself.

"What makes you most uncomfortable, Remus?" I asked with a gloating grin. I was hoping for something I could tease him about, and he knew it.

"Myself," he answered simply. I rolled my eyes at his answer, unsurprised by the lack of originality in it. He fixated far too much on who and what he was.

"Tell me something I don't know," I said with a laugh while Remus wrote down his own results. Katie seemed taken aback by his answer, however, and I knew my best mate was in for a long conversation later. I supposed that was pretty funny.

"My turn," Katie remarked tentatively as she gingerly picked up her allotted vial. She swallowed it all with a grimace before turning to Remus in expectation.

"Katie, what makes you most uncomfortable?" he queried, quill poised to record her answer.

After a pause that seemed far longer than either Moony's or my own, she uncomfortably replied: "Sirius."

* * *

"James! Just shut up and drink the bloody potion!" Lily finally snapped at me after my fourth - and well justified - protest.

"I repeat, I will NOT drink that in front of _Snivellus._ It's degrading."

"I swear by Merlin's beard, Potter, that if you don't drink that potion I will hex your arse so hard that you'll land in the bloody lake!"

"It's not gonna happen, Lily," I told her matter-of-factly. Even my love for her couldn't make me do it. Plus, she looked pretty damn cute when she was this pissed.

"I can assure you, Potter, that I am perfectly willing to keep mum on the subject," Snivellus ground out. "Your petty discomforts mean nothing to me."

"You're full of shit," I declared, shaking my head and crossing my arms as I did so. I didn't care if we were stuck down in these bloody dungeons for the rest of the day. I was not drinking that fucking potion.

"Potter -," Lily began with a snarl before Snape cut her off.

"Need I remind you that I've kept my mouth shut in many areas?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I recoiled as if slapped. Dumbledore had forced him to do it, I was sure . . . but he could have found a way to spill the beans on Remus' lycanthropy. Maybe he did have a bloody point. I felt heat creep up my cheeks at Snivellus' well placed rebuke.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked suspiciously, eyeing us both with a look of utter consternation.

"It's none of your concern," Snape informed her, before turning back to me and holding out the vial. I was surprised by his complete lack of affection for her. The two of them had been surprisingly cool towards one another throughout the whole project. I wondered what had happened, but promptly dismissed it with a shrug. It was nothing to worry about. It just made my chances with Lily even better.

I sighed and gulped down the potion, waiting for Lily to ask the appointed question.

"What makes you most uncomfortable?" she asked after a moments hesitation - as if she didn't want to know the answer.

I grimaced at the taste and then flinched in annoyance as my throat forced out the answer. "At the moment, it is both whatever is going on in Sirius' head and my unrequited love for you." My face flared brightly at the deep sincerity of my words. Her expression mirrored my own.

I'd told her that I loved her on many occasions, but I'd never had the balls to say it with any authenticity. She rejected me too much for me to bear it if she repelled the real truth, too. I averted my eyes, choosing instead to study my trouser leg, which had a mysterious stain lurking on the knee.

It surprised me that this dilemma with Sirius was such a huge concern, though. I suppose it wasn't really so shocking, though. I'd simply pushed it to the back of my mind and refused to confront it. It really worried me that he might be that way. Of course I would accept it, but it would just be so much easier if he would be normal for once in his life. I'd deal with those thoughts later, though.

Lily recorded my answer without comment and handed the next vial to Snivellus, whose fists were tightly clenched. I guess the exchange between Lily and I had bothered him. The thought made me snicker.

He drained it without comment and answered Lily stiffly. "The tasks that will be presented to me in the future make me most uncomfortable." The paleness in his face seemed even more pronounced after this declaration, making me highly suspicious of the meaning behind his answer.

I was unable to press him for details, however, because Lily quickly swallowed her own portion of the project.

"Lily," I asked, turning her name into a caress as I did so, "what makes you most uncomfortable?"

She took a deep breath before answering. "My relationship with my sister . . . and you, James." What did she just say? I thought in absolute denial - and utter ecstasy. I was so utterly flabbergasted that I was unable to respond. Instead, I stood there with my mouth gaping and watched as she jotted down her results and fled. I'd just resolved to go after her when the other occupant of the dungeons made his unpleasant presence known.

"Perhaps, Potter, you should quit trying to molest her in the corridors. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable," Snape snarled icily. I'd forgotten he was standing there.

"And maybe you shouldn't be training to be one of those Death Eater freaks. Then your tasks wouldn't make you so uncomfortable," I spat back, completely infuriated by his negative view of Lily's answer. I gripped the back of the nearest chair to ease the tension coiled in my muscles at the thought of speaking with this snarky bastard.

"Watch your mouth, mudblood lover. If you really think that's true, then I'd have the ability to permanently remove that smirk from your face." He took a threatening step forward to emphasize his point. I removed my hands from the back of the chair and gripped my wand in anticipation.

"Wow, Snivellus. Way to deny my accusation, you slimy git. I dare you to _try._"

He whipped out his wand so fast that I had no chance to deploy a shield against his shouted _Sectumsempra_. I cried out in pain when it sliced across the top of my shoulder. His face was black fury, and frightening in a way I'd never seen it before.

I decided that this was a confrontation best ended quickly, so I quickly yelled out a _Petrificus Totalus_ and stalked out of the room. Once I'd removed myself from the wanker's immediate vicinity, I stopped to catch my breath and heal the cut as best I could. The bastard had gone pretty deep.

I probably should have thrown his frozen body into the lake, but it was time for dinner. Besides, as far as I was concerned, he'd just confirmed his status as one of He Who Must Not be Named followers. I had to inform my mates.

* * *

Dinner started out as quite the affair that night. James had come in with an infuriated, yet triumphant expression on his bespectacled face, Peter and Sirius looked oddly anticipatory, and Snape was oddly absent.

Before I could comment on any of these suspicions, James thundered his way over to our section of the table and promptly cast a discreet silencio. This was a technique we had perfected in third year in order to hold super secret (and utterly juvenile) discussions in the crowded Great Hall.

It took us a moment to adjust to the sudden ringing silence in our little bubble before James started his rant.

"Snivellus just admitted that he's one of those Death Eater creeps!" James said with a furiously proud look on his face. "I pushed him into it! He didn't even deny it! I knew that if anyone joined that band of fucking wankers it'd be him. He was probably first in line for signing up." He tapped his foot in extreme agitation while he waited for us to respond.

Sirius slammed his fists onto the table in outrage, but there was no surprise in his demeanor whatsoever. "I'm not shocked at all by that revelation, Prongs. He's a disgustingly greasy prat. That group would be just his type." Sirius was scowling mightily, though he seemed just as eerily triumphant as James.

I glanced across at Peter, who seemed just as uncomfortable in the direction this was going as myself.

"You know we have to do something about it," James told us conspiratorially, a slightly fanatical glint in his eyes. He leaned across the table towards Sirius and myself to emphasize his point. "We can't let that filth run rampant in our school. Think of how it could spread."

Sirius' head had been nodding along to James' every word. But mine was slowly shaking. "James, calm down and think about this for a minute. Why don't you tell us the whole story?"

After recounting the tale he seemed a bit less determined. Perhaps he'd seen the loopholes. "See, Prongs? He didn't deny it, but he didn't confirm it, either. It sounded to me like he was just agitated by your accusations. He played the card you gave him." The light in James' eyes was slowly dimming, for which I was grateful.

"Yeah, James," Peter contributed, "it would be mental to try and get mixed up in that, anyway."

James' eyebrows snapped into a scowl before he demanded to know just what, exactly, Peter meant.

"Well, I'm just saying, what if he was one of those - you know - _followers?_ He'd probably be pretty ruthless." Peter seemed genuinely frightened by the prospect, something which I found odd. He didn't read the stream of stories that were constantly littering the Daily Prophet like I did. Perhaps his new friends were scaring him with stories of the Death Eaters?

"We could take them, though," Sirius said confidently. James nodded his agreement, although it looked like his momentum had been derailed.

"We don't need to," I reminded him. "We're students. There are people out there trained to deal with this stuff. And do you honestly think Dumbledore would be unaware of such affiliations in his own school? I don't."

"Yeah," James muttered. "You've got a point. Dumbledore would exterminate the infestation before it could spread," he agreed with utmost confidence. Sirius grudgingly decided on the same thing. Their utmost confidence in the Headmaster was inspiring at times.

We ate our food in pronounced silence before James perked up with a completely different light in his eyes. "Guess what, mates?" he asked.

"What?" Sirius responded dutifully.

James grinned before continuing. "The thing that makes Lily most uncomfortable is me. Can you believe it? Me! I make her the most uncomfortable! Well, me and her sister. But still! Isn't that smashing?"

I laughed delightedly while Peter and Sirius exclaimed over this.

"Does this mean she likes you?" Peter questioned.

"Well, yeah!" James cried exuberantly. "What else could it mean?"

"It could mean that your lecherous stares are creeping her out," Sirius suggested.

"Or that your constant harassment is disturbing her mental well-being," I added in.

"Or that you make her fear for her virtue," Peter chipped in.

"You are all damn wankers, you know that?" James asked with a dejected frown.

I took pity on him. "Or it could mean that you're finally getting to her and that it worries her deeply because it goes against everything she's been championing since first year. It's cause for a radical reassessment of everything she's believed, since her having feelings for you is something so foreign that she simply can't comprehend it." I nodded decisively after finishing this.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, "that would make you pretty uncomfortable." He grinned while he said it, but I could tell there was something more behind his words. Perhaps it had to do with his aforementioned longings? The look James gave him made me think so.

"Speaking of being uncomfortable," Sirius said meditatively, "what was that about me making Katie so uncomfortable?"

"It's really quite ridiculous," I began to inform him, before James cut me off with a loud guffaw.

"Wait, you mean Sirius makes Katie most uncomfortable? Is there competition for you, Moony my boy?"

"No, actually," I informed him dryly, "she actually said it was because of how he and I are together." I wasn't willing to divulge more than that without prodding. Especially due to recent James-induced events.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked suspiciously. I shrugged.

"Come on, mate. What's it mean?"

"Yeah, just tell us," James ground out as nonchalantly as possible. I was pretty sure that he had a good idea of what I was talking about.

I sighed, glancing at Sirius as I did so. He was oddly silent. They all were, actually. Even James had his hands and feet on flat surfaces, rather than tapping them across the ground. It was all unnecessary, though. I mean, this wasn't that big of a deal.

My stomach still clenched uncomfortably as I divulged the meaning of Katie's words. "Well, she just thinks we're really close, that's all." I said with a shrug, still unwilling to continue.

"Is that all?" James demanded. He wasn't going to let me beat around the bush.

"No," I said with a resigned sigh, "she's under the impression that we're a little _too_ friendly around one another. That he and I have always been more comfortable with each other than any other Marauders - apparently it's something she and her friends noticed while she was crushing on me. And you know what she's implying, James. Don't make me say it." He snapped his mouth shut at my rebuke.

"It's all bollocks, though. He's just my best mate, that's all." I smiled apologetically at Peter and James when I said this aloud. I'd never had to before. It was just understood.

James was frowning thoughtfully, Sirius was staring at the table, and Peter looked completely unconcerned with the whole exchange. In fact, his attention was focused on the entrance to the Great Hall instead.

"James!" he cried gleefully, "dispell the silencing charm!"

"Why?" he asked in annoyance - but then he saw what had snagged the attention of Peter and now myself.

There was a stream of fluffy white mice descending on the occupants of the hall. And said occupants were not pleased to see them. Especially those of the female persuasion.

"Merlins beard!" James shouted with a laugh as he quickly brought down the spell. We were instantly barraged with the uproar of the Hall.

Many of the girls were shrieking and drawing their legs underneath them. Some were standing up on the benches to avoid coming into contact with the creatures. Even the boys were flinching away from the furry masses.

"What in Merlins name is going on here?" I demanded with a suspicious look at my fellow Marauders. James looked genuinely surprised - and delighted - Peter was having convulsions, and Sirius was laughing uproariously - though it seemed slightly subdued to me.

"Just look at them closely," Peter gasped.

I eyed them with a grin of my own, relishing in the chaos that had enveloped the hall. All the Professors had abandoned their meals in an attempt to quell the onslaught. Even Dumbledore hadn't taken the time to finish his cherry pie. He still seemed oddly amused, though.

I returned my attention to the critters scurrying across the floor as the teachers gingerly approached the center of the hall to better observe the situation.

"Dear Merlin, Albus," I heard Professor McGonagall cry, "are those shoe laces they have for tails?"

Dumbledore squatted down and scooped one of the mice up into his hands, examining the tail in particular. "Why yes, Minerva. I think we've discovered the Ravenclaws missing shoes." I began laughing just as hysterically as my fellows at the Headmasters revelation - though I refrained from falling off the bench as Peter and James had.

"I simply can not believe this," Professor McGonagall declared.

"Nor I, Minerva. But I think it's best to speculate later. Shall we?" She gave him a mute nod and raised her wand in time with him, casting an efficient spell to change the mice back to their intended shapes.

Once that was accomplished she and the Headmaster began a heated discussion. It likely consisted of Professor McGonagall demanding punishment and - by the look on his face - Dumbledore declaring that it was not possible. They had no proof of the perpetrators.

I turned towards Sirius, undiluted delight spread across my face, and raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged with an insolent grin. "It is our best subject."

I couldn't deny that. Still laughing, the other Marauders and I exited the Hall while the Ravenclaws collected their errant shoes. It was indeed an impressive feat - apparently done by not only Sirius, but Peter as well. James and I commended them both profusely.

When we reached the common room I was unsurprised by the questions thrown our way. However, this was a subject that we'd all decided to leave shrouded in mystery. So, we gracefully took our leave and retired to the dormitory.

It wasn't long before the buzz wore off and we became so bored with sitting on our beds that we decided to just call it a night. We all had our own private thoughts to entertain, anyway. James had Lily to think about, and for once it wasn't utterly unjustified. Peter had the prank to reflect on. Sirius was surely pondering Katie's ridiculous accusations.

As I myself was. It was beyond my comprehension that she would have such unwarranted suspicions. We were best mates! So what if we touched too much, like she had blushingly accused. Or if we were constantly telling each other secrets. We had a lot of mischief to manage, for Merlins sake!

And it really didn't matter that we looked at each other so much. We liked to speak with our eyes when we couldn't use our mouths. It's a best mates thing. I did it with the other Marauders too. It's just that Sirius is closest to me, that's all.

I shook my head at her outrageous declarations. I'd have to show her that I was utterly devoted to her in every way. I mean, what she'd stated was utterly unwarranted. I didn't desire Sirius in the way I'd already begun to desire her. So what if mine and his relationship was a bit more friendly than most other boys. We were just sure of our masculinity. That's all.

I resolved to let her see just how sure I was. It was nothing to worry about, anyway. So, I refused to think about it any longer, deciding instead to deal with it later. With a sigh, I rolled over and smashed my pillow over my ears, letting sleep claim me.

_"Sirius, will you quit it?" I snapped for the third time._

_I was laying on my bed attempting to revise my potions essay, which needed to be flawless if I wanted a good mark. However, I was unable to concentrate due to an incessantly annoying canine._

_"I'm not going to stop, Moony," he said with a smirk, as he once again slid his hand under my shirt and up my back._

_I groaned and buried my head in my hands. He was being infuriatingly distracting, and I had to get this done. I caved in and let him tickle my back for a few moments before I forcefully shoved him away. Now was not the time to get sidetracked by his antics._

_"You know you enjoy it Remus." Well, I couldn't deny that, but I certainly wasn't going to admit to it out loud._

_"I just really need to finish doing this essay, Sirius," I told him sternly. I needed him to back off. Otherwise . . ._

_"Alright," he said with a smile I could hear but not see, "I'll just sit here and wait for you to get done." Oh, joy. I wonder what he had in store for me? It didn't take long for my imagination to answer that question._

_I snuck a glance at him out of the corner of my eye and groaned when I saw him. He was wearing that outfit. The tightfitting, leather, and oh-so-flattering clothing that he'd worn the night we pranked the Ravenclaws._

_I forced myself to get back to my homework, but it was harder than ever to concentrate now that my groin was uncomfortably throbbing. Whenever he wore that outfit I had no control over the thoughts that plagued my mind, such as images of undressing him while he gasped beneath my lips. I shook my head determinedly and continued reading._

_But then he casually stretched out next to me, with his face dangerously close to my own. I reread the same phrase three times before finally giving up and shoving all school related material off the bed._

_"You want to know something?" I asked with a menacing growl as I shoved him onto his back and climbed on top of him. "You really piss me off. Like, a lot."_

_"I like to think that I simply heighten your emotions," he replied, watching me with that look in his eye that demanded immediate - and satisfactory - attention._

_"I can't argue with that," I muttered, before pulling my shirt off and throwing it savagely aside. I watched in triumph as his breathing increased dramatically._

_"Good," he said with an insolent grin, "because if you did, you'd lose." He flipped me onto my back and tossed aside his own shirt, casually rotating his hips into mine as he did so._

_Any response I was about to formulate was forgotten as a pleasant ache began to blossom in my groin. I drew in a sharp breath and grasped the back of Sirius' head, forcefully pulling his face down to mine. Our lips met and our teeth clashed as each one of us struggled to overcome the other. He won, after I finally drew away, struggling desperately for air._

_"You're a selfish git," I informed him through shuddering breaths while he nibbled his way down my neck._

_He looked up at me with a wicked glint in his eye before slowly moving his lips down my chest. "I guess I'll have to work on that, then," he said with a smirk, "and start engaging in more selfless acts."_

_And, before I could say anything to dissuade him, he had my pants down and his lips, and tongue, and teeth, were there, and suddenly whether or not I finished revising that essay was not a concern._

I awoke with a gasp and a terrified gulp for air. What the hell was that?

_Did I just . . . ?_ I thought, unable to complete the thought.

_Me? About Sirius?_

_Dreaming?_

No way. I looked down at the bulge in my boxers with absolute horror and complete denial before hyperventilating in utter panic.

_It's not possible,_ I told myself. _There's no way._ The ache in my boxers protested vehemently.

_Oh, Merlin. Oh, fucking Merlin,_ I thought in dismay. _Does this mean that Sirius really did have those dreams on his own? Does that mean he likes me? Does this mean I like him? There's no way James would plant a dream again. Did that mean I'd dreamt this up on my own?_

Wait, though. This dream was completely out of my control. It's not like I wanted to dream about Sirius. The thought was more repellant than double Potions.

But if James hadn't cast this one . . .

No, I in no way desired these fantasies. It must simply be some sort of unforseen backlash of James' foolish casting. Backlash. That was the perfect explanation. Maybe James hadn't planted the dreams in Sirius' head, either. Maybe Sirius had these dreams, too, because of Prongs' foolish pranking.

That made sense. Why else would I dream about Sirius? Or he about me, for that matter? So, in a roundabout way, it was James' fault that we were having these. That made sense. They were completely out of our control.

It didn't make sense that James would lie about casting the dream in Sirius' head again, though. Unless neither of them realized that this was simply an unforseen symptom of James' earlier antics. Maybe they'd both thought the dream to be real, and James had, out of loyalty, taken the blame for it to avoid any discomfort in the group. He was a good mate. The best.

Anyway, so what if the dreams were real. Neither of us wanted this. Sirius loved to shag, as he so often declared. And I was happily entrenched with Katie. These meant nothing. It was just a freak side effect of James' spell.

I accepted my explanation with utmost confidence, refusing to review things any further. It made enough sense to ease my aching mind. For now. Though my heart was still pounding and my breath was still gasping, I accepted my excuse wholeheartedly. It was easiest to deal with.

I looked down at my other aching body part with a grimace. _Now what to do about this?_ I thought. _Katie,_ I decided, feeling slightly dirty as I relieved myself in more ways than one to thoughts of her.


	12. Chap 11 It's About Time SOMEONE Realized

**AUTHORS NOTE: There's not much to say, except that I hope you enjoy this immensely. Hopefully this will satisfy you readers. Yes, things are picking up. Finally. Oops. That's a spoiler. Ha. I'm done here. Go read the chapter.**

**Oh, and this is dedicated to WolfMusic. Honey, I hope your suspension doesn't suck too much ass. At least you get to sleep in. All in all, it seems like a pretty sweet deal. I just might have to get myself one. But this is for you. I hope it alleviates the inevitable boredom. Peace and love!**

**And WhatWouldMrsWeasleyDo (I know you abbreviate that name of yours, but i can never remember where), thank you, as always, for being a great beta. I love your continued support! And your little comments in the texts just make my day. **

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"I still don't see why Katie has to go to Hogsmeade with us," I grumbled for what felt like the umpteenth time. "She is so oppressively boring I can hardly stand it." I stood in front of the mirror as I continued to lament over the presence of Remus' girlfriend, combing my hair out as I did so.

I caught James' eye - and his frown - in the mirror and quickly averted my gaze, choosing instead to see if there was anything in my teeth.

"Sirius, mate," James said in exasperation, "you've got to give it a rest. It's their three month anniversary. Of course they're going to want to celebrate it." He shoved me aside to check his own reflection, running his fingers through his hair to make it stylishly messy.

"Yeah, but the two of them are always together anyway. Besides, Hogsmeade is Marauder mischief time," I grumbled, elbowing him in the side to give myself a last check in the mirror.

"That hurt, you git," he growled out. "Now shut the bloody hell up. You're voice is annoying when you're bitching."

"I am not bitching."

"You're _always_ bitching about Katie. I really don't fucking get why," James ground out. He reached down and scooped up our scarves, throwing mine at me in frustration, and wrapping his own forcefully around his neck as he did so.

"She just annoys me, James!" I yelled, quite as frustrated as he was. This conversation was getting old, fast. I really did have no reason to dislike her. The girl was actually quite sweet. I could actually have a lot of fun with her - so long as Remus wasn't around. It was just the two of them together that agitated me so much. I rationalized it as the manifestation of my hatred for relationships.

"Sirius, you're fucking mental. That doesn't make sense."

"You think I don't know that? It's just that ever since . . ." I stopped, hesitant to continue. It was a very touchy subject that I was about to reveal to James, so I was naturally uneasy about discussing it.

"Ever since what?" James asked with barely contained patronization. Apparently he was tired of my pussyfooting around things. Well, so was I.

I plopped down onto my bed and began yanking on my shoes before answering. "Ever since she said Remus and I were too friendly around each other . . . I've been really pissed off around her. I mean, who does she think she is? Making assumptions and accusations like that. It's complete bollocks. It's - it's mental. That's what it is." I tied my shoes savagely before daring a glance at James.

He was looking at me with a slight frown. "I didn't know it bothered you so much, Sirius," he told me quietly.

I shrugged. "It doesn't, really. It's stupid." That was an outright lie, but as my best friend I didn't think James would notice.

"It's not stupid, Padfoot," he said meaningfully.

I shrugged it off again. I'd counted on him dropping the subject. He wasn't supposed to be insightful or anything. Upon reflection, I'd decided that this subject really was a bit too personal to discuss. "It's really no big deal, James," I said as forcefully as possible. I didn't feel like analyzing this anymore. It was a big mistake to even begin revealing things to James. Katie was cool. I could handle it.

"Sirius, it is a big deal." He stood over me with his arms crossed. He looked ready to confront me on it - the little frown between his eyebrows told me something was troubling him more than usual. And his stance made it clear he was ready to deal with it.

"La la la la la, James, you sound like a ninny bird questioning me on my feelings," I informed him with a sing song voice. I decided that it would definitely be much better for us to drop this subject.

"Sirius, be serious for a minute." The frown was migrating across his forehead. It was time to take evasive action.

"I'm always Sirius, James." That line always pissed him off.

"Shut up. I'm trying to talk to you here." Now that damn frown had mutated into a mutinous scowl. He was being damn persistent today.

"Too bad I'm not listening!" I cried, jumping up as I did so. "Not listening! Not listening! La, la, la, la, la! You're making too big of a deal about nothing! Shut up about it!"

"Sirius! You're being a fucking wanker!" He shouted at me, his face growing ominously red as he did so.

"I'm only being a fucking wanker because you're being such a bloody git!" Now he'd pissed me off. Why couldn't he just drop it? Friends were supposed to know when friends didn't want to talk about things!

"Yeah, well, I'm only being a bloody git because you won't stop bitching about stupid shit!" He was facing me with clenched fists and clenched teeth, with me mirroring his stance perfectly.

"It's not stupid shit!" I hollered back at him, furious that he could call something this serious by such a trivial title.

"Then why won't you talk about it?" He cried, throwing his hands into the air as he did so. Apparently even that small admission - me admitting that it wasn't just something trivial - was enough to deflate him a little. He'd relapsed back into the frustrated - rather than furious - stage.

"Because I don't want to deal with it, James," I hissed out, surprised by my lingering vehemence.

"Deal with what, Sirius? What?" His eyes veritably begged me to tell him, and I wondered for the first time if perhaps he genuinely knew what was going on.

"It, James. _It._" And I couldn't give him any more information than that.

I didn't need to. "Sirius." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I know it's hard to deal with. But I don't think you should just ignore it." He set his jaw and sat down on his bed, folding his hands firmly in his lap when he did so. The boy was not taking this lightly.

"James," I said hesitantly, "do you even know what the problem is? Because I'm not sure that I do." I couldn't believe he and I were actually going to talk about this. The thought was rather daunting.

He looked at me, and then glanced quickly away, as if this was extremely difficult for him to answer. I had no doubt in my mind that it was. I began fidgeting with the scarf still wrapped around my neck as I awaited his answer.

"Sirius, I think we both know what it is," he muttered, still unable to meet my gaze.

"There's no possible way you could be thinking what I'm thinking," I informed him, hoping that I was right.

"I think I've been thinking what you think since we were eleven," he replied smoothly.

"Then you must be very disturbed."

"Well, you are rather sick in the head," he agreed.

I sighed and sat down on the bed across from him, taking my scarf off to fold it and then refold it in quick succession. It was odd for me to be the one fidgeting.

"Alright, James. I'll be serious for you. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then you have to understand that this was completely out of my control."

"Yes, well, in all my thinking of your thinking, that did cross my mind."

"Well," I said slowly, "I want you to know that I'm not really even thinking about this." At least, not consciously. Subconsciously, however, was an entirely different matter. The constant dreaming was getting rather tedious. I didn't think that was something James wanted to know, though.

"Thinking about what?" he asked. He kept his face completely bland as he looked at me. I sighed, resigned to the fact that he wanted me to actually say it. Maybe, somewhere deep down, he was hoping he was wrong, and that I would respond with having a secret infatuation with mutated hippogriffs.

I swallowed three times before I could get my fucking throat to form the words I wanted. Even after that, I still couldn't meet his gaze as I muttered out my choked-up answer: "Remus."

"Bloody hell," he whispered, closing his eyes in defeat as he did so. I looked away, feeling a peculiar stinging in my eyes at his reaction. I didn't exactly expect immediate acceptance, but his look of utter dejection was pretty hard to stomach.

"You're sure about this?" he questioned.

I nodded my head, not trusting my voice to come out evenly if I spoke.

"Have you tried anything with girls lately?"

"Like what?" I asked.

"I mean, have you shagged one?" Leave it to James to be blunt.

"No," I muttered.

"Then how can you be sure . . . ?" he replied softly.

"James. I'm sure."

"But haven't you been spending time with girls?"

"Believe me. I've _tried._ You don't know how hard. I just can't work up the interest anymore."

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "How is that _possible? _You seemed to be doing fine before!"

I rolled my eyes. "Prongs, you're making me out to be some sort of stud. I mean, I know I'm dashing, but I've only ever been with three girls. And that's because the other option was never a reality for me."

"And now it is? How the bloody hell did that happen?" he demanded.

"Well, I had this dream drop kick me in the brain in the middle of History of Magic, and since then . . ."

"You mean I turned you into a poof?" he cried, utterly scandalized by the thought.

"No, you just made me aware of it. But it was in a roundabout sort of way. All other thoughts after the dream were entirely of my own creation." He looked utterly flabbergasted (and slightly appalled) by this revelation. "Yes, I know you didn't implant that dream in my head. Merlin, don't act so devastated," I said reproachfully.

"Wow," he replied quietly. It seemed to be sinking in now. At least he was able to meet my eyes. "Obviously I suspected," he muttered, "but I still hoped . . ."

"Well, I'm sorry I let you down," I spat, hurt by his continued disapproval.

"You didn't let me down, Sirius," he said in a firm, yet irritated, voice. "It's just gonna be hard to adjust to."

"No, really?" I asked sarcastically.

He groaned. "Shut up with the sarcasm. What exactly do you feel about this whole situation?"

"Right now? Well, I think you're being somewhat of a prat . . ."

"Sirius! Quit avoiding the damn question! I would actually like to go to Hogsmeade for a bit, not spend all day dissecting your unstable mind." _Now_ his foot was tapping. That was more like the James I knew.

"Okay, _fine,_" I replied, pretending like I was doing him a great favor. In reality, I was more than relieved to be getting this off my chest. It's rather tiresome to hold something like this in for so long. Maybe that's why James is always going on and _on_ about Lily. I was surprised that after all my resistance I actually felt quite relieved.

"Well," I said slowly, and speculatively, "like I said, I haven't really been focusing on this all that much. Denial, you know. So, bear with me."

"Believe me," he replied, "I'm bearing it." He was up and pacing now - willing to listen to what I had to say, but still unable to be completely okay with it.

I ignored his comment and his pacing. "I can't stand to be in the same room as Remus and Katie. Seeing the two of them as a couple makes me literally grind my teeth together, and if I ever see them kissing, I have to leave the room. However, when they're apart, I think Katie is pretty okay. And when _Remus_ isn't around Katie . . . well. I do all that I can to get his attention. I savor it, ya know? I don't know when it started happening, but I just started seeking him out more and more . . . and cherishing the time we spent together." I stopped my monologue, looking towards the window as I did so. I felt disgustingly soppy saying all this. It made me want to gag, really.

"That's how I am with Lily," James informed me quietly. I'd suspected as much. I wasn't ready to respond, though. I kept looking out the window, watching as the skeletal tree limbs whipped in the icy November wind.

"Yeah, well," I finally began, "I guess I feel pretty strongly towards him, then."

James was quiet for so long that I'd begun to suspect he'd gone catatonic. I suppose he had a lot to ponder, though.

"Do you . . . love him?" he finally questioned.

"What?" I gasped. "What kind of question is that? How am I supposed to answer it? I don't know - no!" The thought made me recoil. It wasn't that serious. There was no way.

"Merlin, okay. It was just an errant thought," he said placatingly. I suppose it was. We all knew James loved Evans, so it was no surprise he'd made that assumption.

"I just, you know, think about him a lot, and stuff," I said with a relenting sigh.

"Right." It looked like he wasn't too keen on envisioning just how much I thought about him, though. I didn't blame him. I could barely handle it, sometimes.

"So," he finally said, "what are you going to do about it?" It seemed that he'd finally accepted the situation. I didn't know if that was a good thing, though. The look in his eyes made me think he was going to champion my cause.

"That, Prongs my man, I can not answer."

"And why's that?"

"Because I have no idea."

"Then I guess we ought to come up with a plan, don't you think?" he asked with a grin.

I grinned back, glad to see that he was on my side. I liked the idea of coming up with a plan. It showed that James wasn't completely traumatized and it gave me this terrifying sense of hope that maybe we'd be successful in said plan. It surprised me that James took to the idea so easily, though. Although, I guess I couldn't be surprised that James and I had gone from being utterly furious with each other, to awkwardly sentimental, and then to jubilant scheming in a matter of twenty minutes.

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The day was going splendidly. Katie was so sweet all the time. It was really quite easy to be in a relationship with her. She's not the demanding type at all. Of course, that can get wearisome, because I never really know what she wants or likes (because she's such a people pleaser), but she's so intelligent and lovely that it simply doesn't matter.

I'd been absolutely cherishing every moment, walking around with my hand in hers and my scarf around her neck. It was probably one of the most fulfilling days in all my life. That is, until James and Sirius decided to join us.

"Oh, Remus," Katie said with a giggle and a blush, "this bracelet is gorgeous! You didn't have to get it for me." She inspected the colorfully woven confection with a pleased smile that my gift was hardly worthy of. Honestly, she was thrilled by the littlest things, no matter how undeserving I found them to be. But this was a little quirk of hers that I adored. It was nice to know that she wouldn't be impossible to shop for, unlike James or Sirius, who I spent hours agonizing over what kind of gift I should get for them. The two of them were tactless enough to make it quite plain when they considered some of my gifts to be less than adequate.

I rolled my eyes at her affectionately, knowing that was going to be her response. "And you didn't have to get me the new quill, silly," I told her, grinning like a fool when she held out her dainty wrist to have me clasp the bracelet around it. I was really quite surprised that our relationship had lasted this long. It wasn't that I thought it would be doomed to failure, it was just that I usually couldn't stomach the commitment. It is often terribly hard for me to give my loyalty to others wholeheartedly, since in most cases I can never be completely honest about who - or, more accurately, what - I am. I suppose it was so easy with Katie because she simply needed me so much. As in, she needed me to be there for her, whereas I didn't desperately need emotional support from her. I already had that. So, it was much easier to be the supporting boyfriend since I didn't have to reveal as much about myself.

I rather liked the thought of being the protective one, anyway. The other Marauders didn't think I noticed, but I knew they looked out for me a bit more than necessary. They seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that I was ten times as wily as them and completely capable of taking care of myself. Most of the time, anyway.

We'd decided that it was time to warm up after spending most of the day strolling the streets in the frosty November air. Naturally, we ended up in the Three Broomsticks. Unfortunately, all other Hogwart students seemed to have decided to warm up at just the same time as Katie and myself, causing us to be crammed onto stools up against the bar. Hardly romantic, and not nearly private enough, but it would do.

I didn't mind, though. It was always nice to cozy up to Katie. I loved the close contact that I so often refused to allow myself to exhibit.

I kept hold of her hand after I successfully draped the bracelet over it, twining my fingers with hers as I ordered two butterbeers. I waited for the barmaid to attend to someone else before I scooted even closer to Katie.

"Are you having a good time?" I whispered into her ear, relishing the flush that spread across her cheeks as I did so.

She turned to me before she answered, whispering against my lips that she was. Her lips brushing _just_ against mine sent tingles down my spine, and I couldn't help but close the distance.

We kissed for one breathless moment before she pushed me away, blushing brightly.

"Not here, Remus," she said with an embarrassed smile, "people might be watching us."

"I hardly think anyone would be interested," I informed her, but I smiled and pulled back anyway. She was such a stickler for PDA. It was rather frustrating, sometimes, but that was just the way Katie was. There was no point in getting annoyed about it. So, I just did what I usually did and viewed it with indulgent amusement.

Unfortunately, not many others were as easy-going as myself.

"Why, pray tell, are you not snogging him senseless, Katie?" James asked with a roguish grin. He slid himself onto the stool right next to my lovely girlfriend, looking suspiciously marauderish with his wind chapped cheeks, abnormally messy hair and glinting eyes.

"Yeah," Sirius chimed in, with an equally mysteriously cheeky grin on his face, "if I had him all to myself I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off him." He draped a leather-clad arm around my shoulder to demonstrate just that, and I noticed with annoyance that Sirius - no matter what the weather was like - always remained stylishly windswept and unaffected by the forces of nature.

"Ge' off me," I growled out, while James choked on a swig of _my_ butterbeer, though for what reason I had no idea. It really made no sense to me how the two of them always showed up at the most inopportune moments. I was beginning to suspect that they were stalking me.

"Honestly," James observed, "you two look more like an old married couple then two young, hot, hormonal teenagers."

"Yeah, mate, what are you doing?" Sirius asked reproachfully. "What was the point of all those talks McGonagall made us sit through if you aren't even gonna do the deed that would need her advice?" He waggled his eyebrows at me in an entirely too suggestive manner.

I ground my teeth at them. They knew Katie didn't like this kind of talk. I put my arm around her protectively, getting myself farther away from Sirius as I did so. "Stop being gits," I told them as menacingly as I could. I caught Katie's eye and attempted a reassuring grin, but she could muster no more than a tremulous smile. It made me sad that she and my mates didn't click. They were simply too insensitive to take her instabilities into consideration, and she was too moralistic and shy to appreciate their boisterous behavior. I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever find the happy medium.

They would not be deterred, just as I'd suspected. It was a bad idea revealing to them how frustrated I was becoming with the lack of passion between Katie and myself. There was some undefinable tension that kept us from going too far with the other. It was as if on a physical level we couldn't be on the same wavelength, even though on an intellectual level we were practically two peas in a pod.

Yes, I admit the idea of doing anything more than heavily snogging terrified me, but I still had these entirely too detailed thoughts about the whole affair. I knew that, logically, it was impossible. I would never let myself actually be with her. Not when I had this unstable beast lurking inside me. The thought of losing control horrified me. I couldn't bear to hurt her. When I explained this to James and Sirius, however, the two of them brushed it off as inconsequential. They considered me the most self contained person they'd ever met, and in their minds it was not only possible, but an eventuality.

They didn't really get that my volatile werewolf state could manifest in human form, as well. I suppose that was my fault, though. I'd always kept them sheltered from those occurrences. Only Headmaster Dumbledore and my parents had ever been exposed to it. Those were situations that I never talked to them about. I didn't expect them to understand. Perhaps I didn't give them enough credit, though. I decided that it might be prudent to speak to them about it. I could hardly focus on doing so, though, what with the two of them rushing blindly forward in their incessant and mildly disturbing innuendo.

"Sirius is right, mate," James told me solemnly. "McGonagall is the kind of teacher that likes to teach through practice - not lecturing."

"It's true," Sirius agreed. "She'd hate to see her lessons go to waste." Sirius snatched my butterbeer from James' hand and downed the rest of the contents.

"You better replace that," I warned him. Sometimes I wondered why I considered these two my best mates.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Oi! Barmaid!" he hollered over the din, snapping his fingers as he did so.

"That's awfully rude," Katie mumbled with a frown, but neither James nor Sirius heard her. I squeezed her shoulder, silently agreeing with her, but encouraging her to be patient with them at the same time. She didn't give them enough credit, either.

The saucy young barmaid sauntered over at Sirius' demands, though by the look on her face she agreed with Katie's assessment.

"Hello, my dashing damsel," Sirius said gallantly, "we'd like four butterbeers."

She began to walk away in a huff, not impressed by Sirius' flattery, when Sirius stopped her. "Hold on there, lovely lady," he said with a wicked grin, "you forgot this." He tossed her two galleons and threw in a wink for good measure, earning himself a grudgingly pleased smile and a swish of the hips for his efforts.

"Now, see, _that_ is how it's done," James declared, nodding his approval in the mutt's direction.

"It's true. I've got plenty of skill in that area," he said, winking at Katie as he did so. She blushed uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Katie, you better watch out. If you don't do it, then that horndog over there might just beat you to it," James said with a devilish grin.

Sirius let out a howl to voice his agreement, drawing the curious, annoyed, and amused stares of many of the occupants of the bar. I wondered what had gotten into these two. Usually they dropped their nonsense when they saw I was less than appreciative of it. It confirmed my suspicions that they had some sort of agenda for being here. They must be trying to goad me and Katie into doing something more. Honestly, the notions those two concocted were simply absurd.

"That's enough, you two," I snapped at them, feeling Katie go positively rigid under my arm. I knew she wanted to leave. They'd made her terribly uncomfortable now. They rolled their eyes at each other but finally quit their suggestive conversation. Instead, they began conversing loudly to one another about the last Quidditch match meeting, leaning across Katie and myself to do so. They'd gone from being annoying to downright insufferable.

I had just resolved to force my way out of there when Peter came hurtling up to our section of the bar. It went from being crowded to downright claustrophobic with his arrival. I couldn't be rude and simply duck out on him, though.

"Guess what, mates," he whispered conspiratorially. I was annoyed, hot, and concerned for Katie, but I still couldn't walk out on Pete. I don't think the boy could have born the blatant rejection.

I sighed as we all leaned in, mimicking his stance, curious about what he wanted. Katie remained aloof, and though this bothered me immensely, I couldn't bring myself to extract myself from my friends just yet. I figured Peter must have something terribly interesting up his sleeve.

I was shocked when he literally pulled something from his sleeve. It was bright, it was shiny, and it was liquid. James and Sirius' eyes lit up in complete awe as they recognized what Peter had obtained - an elusive bottle of Firewhiskey. I was a bit wary, myself, but I couldn't help but be caught up in my friends' obvious enthusiasm.

"Mate," James whispered, "where'd you get it?"

Peter shrugged uncomfortably, as if he hadn't considered they'd want to know just how he'd come into its possession.

"Isn't this great?" he asked instead, sidestepping the question smoothly.

"It's brilliant," Sirius agreed.

We all four traded looks in the way that only Marauders could, agreeing silently that this was something to be treasured - not wasted lightly. I knew without looking that Katie's forehead had crinkled into a frown, and that she was biting her lip in obvious worry. It sent a pang of unpleasant guilt pulsing through my gut, causing me to resolve to spend the rest of the day making up to her for this awkward and unpleasant twenty minutes.

"We'll keep it safe, Pete," James told him solemnly, completely unaware of the blatant discomfort of my girlfriend. I couldn't blame him, though. He always got caught up in the moment.

Peter nodded, though I could see he was hesitant to hand over the bottle.

"Can we please go now?" Katie whispered into my ear. I sighed, knowing that right now, she came first. Sometimes it was terribly hard balancing a girlfriend and three best mates. Although I had to admit that I was ready to get away from them. This was, after all, mine and Katie's three month anniversary.

I nodded to her and pushed myself off my stool, stumbling into Sirius as I did so. He caught me and then let me go as quickly as he'd grabbed me, causing me to stagger even more precariously than before.

"Merlin, Sirius, you didn't have to shove me away," I informed him irritably. "Why'd you have to let me go?" I asked, scowling at him as I steadied myself.

The look in his eyes made my irritation dissolve, though. He looked irrationally vulnerable, as if I'd said something that had struck a nerve. So much so, in fact, that I decided it was definitely not the time to be impatient with him. I instead decided that it would be best to get away from him. I turned to look at James, and the expression on his face mirrored Sirius's so completely that I was convinced something had been going on. Something that was bothering the both of them, which explained why they were being so insufferable. They dealt with their problems in the most immature ways immaginable.

I gave Sirius a meaningful look, saying with my eyes that I knew something was going on, and that we were going to discuss it later. He looked away after a moment, silently conceding to my demand but unhappy about it nevertheless.

Katie tugged on my hand, though, so I refrained from pushing the subject further. I would simply have to remember to bring it up with him later.

I patted all three of them on the shoulder, mustering a grin as I did so, and bid them all a fond farewell. They assured me that we'd meet again sooner than I anticipated, and, unfortunately, I knew that this was entirely too true. James had that glint in his eye, after all.

I figured it was time for Katie and I to get out of there so that we could have some time to ourselves.

We shoved ourselves away from the bar - with much pushing and cursing on the Marauders part - and finally stumbled out of the Three Broomsticks after another five minutes of fighting the crowds.

I slid my arm around Katie's waist to keep her warm, noticing with resignation that she was still upset. "Katie, I'm sorry about them. You know how they get. They really do have good hearts, though."

"I know, you keep telling me that," she said wearily. "But some of the things they do make it hard to believe. Are you all really going to drink that Firewhiskey?" she asked softly.

I sighed, feeling bad for what I'd just put her through, yet still wishing she could be a little more receptive to my best mates. "No. Not how you think. We've never even tried it. It's always been an unobtainable fantasy for us. None of us really have any real desire to drink it. We've all seen what it does, in one way or another. We just, you know, like the illegality of it."

"Uh-huh," she said, not convinced.

"It'll be a one time thing. Bragging rights, you know?" I tightened my arm around her in reassurance.

"I guess," she agreed.

"None of us actually like it, Katie," I told her gently.

She sighed. "It's alright. Just promise it won't become excessive, or anything."

"Never," I promised.

"Now, can we please continue our anniversary?" I asked with an impish grin, sliding my hand into hers as I did so.

"Well, now that I've got you all to myself again, I don't see why not," she said agreeably. I sighed contentedly, looking forward to the rest of the day.


	13. Chap 12 And So the Confessions Continue

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**Authors Note: Hey guys. I know it's been months. I do apologize for that. In my defense, I'm working two jobs, plus going to school, plus doing lots of extra curriculars. I know that doesn't exactly excuse me, but perhaps it can give you an idea of how damn busy I've been. Anyway, I've managed to scrounge up a chapter. I hope you enjoy it, too. I apologize again for the wait, and promise to do some more writing whenever possible! Please, read and enjoy.**

**Oh, and in case some of you didn't get the memo, I rewrote the ending of the last chapter. It was pathetically out of character, but I think I managed to get it back on track.  
**

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"Sirius!" I cried in immense exasperation, "_what_ do you want?" I was currently in our dorm with Katie (something which all the Marauders were aware of), enjoying some much-needed alone time. Things were just beginning to get heated when the door slammed open and in bounded Sirius.

It shouldn't have surprised me that the hound was interrupting us again, having already burst in here for this book or that parchment numerous times already, but it did. Very much so. I was beginning to suspect that it was deliberate.

I rolled off of Katie and rubbed my flushed cheeks, both completely frustrated and borderline furious, while Katie straightened her shirt and scooted away from me, blushing in evident embarrassment. I simply could not believe that Sirius was doing this to me. He was the one that was encouraging more scandalous behavior from Katie and myself, and for once we were actually taking his advice!

"Excuse me," he said indignantly, while making a beeline for his bed, "but we do share this dorm. It's not my fault that you two can't find somewhere else more appropriate to get down to business." He began rummaging through his bag disdainfully, pretending we weren't worth his notice. Funny, though, that I knew all his attention was focused on us.

"For Merlin's sake, Sirius, what do you think we were doing?" I cried, glancing at Katie anxiously as I did so. She'd sat up and begun putting on her shoes, completely unable to meet my eyes. I knew that she was feeling ashamed, and for some reason that frustrated me just as much as Sirius' commentary. It's not like we were doing anything utterly obscene.

"Isn't it quite obvious?" he asked scornfully, looking Katie up and down as he did so, making her cringe as he made his opinion clear.

"I can't believe you're acting like this!" I spat out, jumping up from the bed as I did so. Who was he, Sirius Black, to judge? How dare he?

"Well," he growled out, "I can't believe you two are acting like _this_." He flung his bag down onto his bed and faced me full on, glaring at me with a turmoil of emotions that I could barely comprehend. His righteous anger was utterly beyond me. Who did he think he was? One day he would barrage me with insinuations and innuendos about what Katie and I should be doing and then the next moment he would act like _this_. He was so hot and cold lately. I couldn't keep up.

"Sirius, what are you trying to accomplish with this tirade?" I asked furiously, advancing on him as I did so.

"I'm trying to say that you shouldn't be doing something that you don't want to do." The absolute conviction in his voice drained some of my anger, leaving me wondering what exactly he was implying.

I shook my head, utterly flabbergasted by this outburst and accompanying accusation. "Sirius," I said through gritted teeth, "you know I want this." I felt my cheeks burn painfully as I spoke this aloud, horrified that he'd forced me to openly say something so intimate, especially in front of Katie.

He crossed his arms and looked at me in his most aristocratically patronizing manner, "No, Remus, this is not something you want to do. Not with her."

I flung my hands into the air, completely at a loss. I had no idea where this argument was coming from or from where Sirius was drawing his conclusions. It was hard to defend yourself when you didn't even know what you were defending against. I glanced behind me and realized that both Sirius and Katie were staring each other down. I'd never seen her look so confrontational.

"I do want this with her," I informed him, attempting to break the silent showdown as I did so. What was he on about? Was he trying to protect me? Perhaps he thought we were going to shag, and he'd reconsidered his absolute belief that no severe consequences would arise from said action? But he knew that I didn't want to go that far with Katie. I just wanted some passion. So what was he so furious about?

I watched carefully as Katie raised her chin at my declaration, as if to silently assert some sort of dominance over me. Sirius' whole face spasmed painfully as he looked away, silently conceding defeat. I found myself not entirely pleased that I'd proven Sirius wrong. I didn't like the way a defeated Sirius looked. This thought was quickly dispelled, however, when Sirius clenched his fists in anger and retaliated.

"No, you don't. She's just what's available. She's easy, Remus. She presents no challenges to you. You're not even emotionally invested with her, and you know it." He said the words like a slap, and they had the intended effect. After clenching both hands and teeth, Katie got up and stormed out the open door, unable to hold her own against Sirius' onslaught.

I stood there for a moment, completely caught off guard by the whole situation, before following her down the steps, fully intending to comfort her as best as I was able. I, too, stormed past Sirius, completely appalled by everything he had accused. I literally could not comprehend his accusations. They simply would not register in my mind. It was all too sudden, and too haphazardly presented to me. I needed things to be logically brought to my attention, not hurled at me through a haze of anger. I shook my head, intending to sort it all out in my mind after I'd dealt with Katie.

When I reached the common room, however, Lily was walking away with her, obviously intending to provide what I wanted to offer.

For some reason, this sent my anger boiling to unmanageable proportions. Why was Katie seeking comfort from her and not me? Why had Sirius instigated this in the first place?

I stood at the bottom of the steps, staring out at the common room, shaking with my mounting fury. Everyone was going about their business, playing wizards chess, doing homework, or simply lounging, but they were all shooting me covert glances that clearly implied they could guess what was going on. I couldn't think straight. My head hurt.

They were probably thinking badly of me, thinking that I'd attempted to take advantage of her or something else equally ridiculous and yet sadly appropriate for what little information the occupants of the room had been able to compile. After all, Katie had walked out of the dorm crying, and she had chosen to be comforted by a girlfriend rather than her boyfriend.

I glanced down at my shirt and realized that the top three buttons were undone, leaving an embarrassing amount of my chest exposed. A scar was clearly visible. Once again, the fury inside me reared, absolutely enraged with Sirius for fucking with my mind so much. I couldn't think clearly. The same two thoughts of Katie crying and Sirius sneering kept flying through my mind, both of them fanning the smouldering anger boiling inside me.

"Remus!" James called from his seat by the roaring fire. "What's going on?" I ignored him.

After another minute of silently fuming, I whirled around and went up the steps, taking them slowly and deliberately in an attempt to contain the storm raging inside me. It was no use, however. The beast inside would not be quelled. That small, logical part of my mind was valiantly screaming for me to control myself, but my raging emotions completely overpowered its feeble voice.

Only Sirius could make me lose my composure like this.

I reached the doorway as Sirius was walking out. He froze when he saw me advancing, and then stumbled backwards when I didn't stop.

"I can not believe you," I snarled, slamming the door shut as I did so. I heard James and Peter hollering from the other side of the wooden barrier, demanding to know what was going on. I whipped out my wand and slammed a locking spell onto the door. I didn't want them interrupting.

"What are you on about, Sirius? How _dare_ you treat Katie that way?" I kept a tight grip on my wand, stalking around Sirius as I let my anger smolder. I glared at him as I waited for his response.

"You're wasting yourself with her, Remus!" he yelled back, watching me cautiously as he did so.

So, he was throwing accusations at me again. This argument was going to get old, fast. "Who are you to judge, Sirius Black? How many birds have you fucked this month?" I came to an abrupt halt right in front of him, and, to my surprise, caught a look of betrayal flit across his face when I did so.

"You don't know anything about it, Remus," he told me softly. His voice had dropped ominously, causing my figurative hackles to rise. Everything about his mood had visibly darkened, and I was instantly on guard as I sensed the danger.

I sneered at him in disgust before replying. "I know about the rumors, and the knowing glances, and the confident strut," I informed him, voice just as dangerously low as his. "I know about sneaking into the dorm well after curfew, and about stifled moans, and about misplaced clothing." I watched his body tense with each bit of information I revealed. "I know about shoddily cast silencing charms, and bed curtains only half way closed, and about squeaking bed springs." He looked horrified by my revelations. _It_ _probably wounded his dignity_, I thought savagely. "Yeah, Sirius. I know about all of it. I know about fucking all of it!" I shoved him to emphasize my point.

He stumbled backwards with a look of shock, completely taken off guard by any show of violence on my part. "What, Sirius?" I asked in disgust, "You're not going to try and defend yourself? There's no carefully composed or witty explanation for your actions? No shame? Of course not. You're the unapologetic Sirius fucking Black. You do what you want because you want to do it. Pride and dignity are irrelevant in the face of lust, right? Am I fucking right?"

His appalled look was cooling my anger. I was used to a Sirius who snarled and snapped right back, giving what he got as viciously as possible. The Sirius before me was one who was painfully exposed and utterly vulnerable in a way that I had rarely ever dealt with.

"You're not right. You're not right," he finally stuttered out, shaking his head as he did so. I wasn't used to the stuttering, either. Sirius was always calm, cool, and collected. Something was wrong. "I've only ever been with three girls, Remus. It might have been more than once with each one, but it's only been three fucking girls. You really think I'm that big of a whore?" he asked, clearly dejected by such a thought.

He shook his head, not waiting for me to respond. The look in his eyes was more tortured than I'd ever seen it before. It was as if he was allowing me a rare glimpse into his contorted soul. "None of that is the point, though, Moony. The point is that I didn't actually feel anything for any of those girls. It wasn't special with any of them."

Actual discussion of Sirius' feelings was rare. This revelation snuffed out the remnants of my anger as thoroughly as his accusations had caused it to rise. Only Sirius could make my moods swing so rapidly. "Then why'd you do it?" I asked him, still searching his eyes in a desperate attempt to decipher what was being shown me.

"Because I wanted it to be special with them, Remus." He shook his head, finally breaking eye contact. I took in a sharp breath at the loss of that connection. Sirius was intense.

I found myself desperately searching for a response. Sirius all too often left me floundering. The way he muddled my thoughts was often terrifying to me. Surprisingly, Sirius kept talking.

"It wasn't all about the lust, Moony. I mean, yeah, I wanted them physically, but at the same time, I wanted to be able to connect with them emotionally. Don't you get it? I wasn't emotionally connected with them, and so I wanted to be with them so I could make that connection. But it doesn't work that way. You have to be emotionally attached _before_ you do it, otherwise you never will be." He continued to look away from me as he spoke, staring out the window at the snow covered landscape.

"I am emotionally attached to Katie," I told him consolingly. Never mind the fact that I didn't intend to go that far with Katie, I still wanted to have this conversation with Sirius. I'd never seen him look so raw before.

His head whipped up and his piercing eyes snatched mine again, allowing me to see how appalled he was by this declaration. "Remus, for Merlin's sake, do not delude yourself. You are _not_ attached to that girl."

I felt my anger flare again at his accusation. "Sirius, how would _you_ know?" I demanded.

"I know," he told me softly. I could see the conviction in his eyes.

"You never even _see_ us together!" I cried. This was true. Sirius was never around when Katie and I were together. He always had some excuse to leave. I had accredited this to his pathological distaste for relationships, but obviously there was more to it.

"Remus, I know," he repeated.

"You don't know anything, Sirius!" I yelled, pointing my wand at him in fury as I did so. Why was I letting this bother me so much? Why couldn't I just be comfortable in my own conviction? Why did Sirius' opinion even matter? Why? Deep down I knew that Sirius' words rang true, but I didn't want to deal with it. I didn't want to face it. An image of Sirius in tight fitting leather rose to my mind. I shook my head in an attempt to dispel it.

"I do know, Remus!" Sirius shouted back. "I know how you never tell her anything about yourself, and how you always do what she wants! I know that you never talk about her in the way that James talks about Lily, or in the way that I talk about -" he stopped short, appearing to choke on the words he was about to utter. I could barely even focus on what he'd just revealed, however. My thoughts and emotions were so out of control that I could barely focus on anything.

_Sirius, rotating his hips as he straddled me._ I shook my head harder. "I want to make her happy, Sirius! Can you understand that?" I cried, gripping my wand tighter as I did so.

"You want to make her happy at the expense of your _own_ happiness!" His fists were clenched so tightly he was shaking.

"Relationships are about sacrifices!" I retaliated, realizing that my own hands were shaking just as badly.

"Yeah, but you both have to make the sacrifices! Otherwise it's just martyrdom!"

_Sirius', his lips moving down my chest. _I gripped my head in one hand as I attempted to steady my wand with the other. "What do you even know about it, Sirius?" I accused, clenching my hair in my fist as I attempted to reject the images raging through my mind.

"All I know, Remus, is that James, Peter, and especially me would do anything for you. _Anything. _Can you say the same about Katie?" The way his eyes bore into me was disorienting. I couldn't think straight at all.

"Yes!" I said angrily, but my voice cracked in a way that wasn't convincing at all.

"She wouldn't do some of the things I would do for you, Moony," he told me softly. The look in his eyes was the same way he'd looked at me in the dream. He looked like he wanted to devour me. But - there was no way . . .

I gripped my head in both my hands and shook it furiously, breaking away from his all-consuming stare. "Just shut up, Sirius," I pleaded.

"No." He stepped forward and gripped my shoulders, forcing me to meet his eyes.

"You need to shut up," I told him, bringing my wand to his chest as I did so. He didn't even flinch.

"Remus," he said softly, gripping my shoulders tighter as he did so, "I like blokes. And I think you do, too." Silence.

There was no escaping his look. And there was no way to disguise the one in mine. I was terrified. What he was suggesting was beyond me, and what he revealed even more so. What should I say? Should I deny it? _Could_ I deny it? I didn't know, and so I stared. And as I stared, I watched his look of conviction morph into one of doubt and then horror. He stepped back.

I stepped forward, intending to do _something_. I had no idea what, but I was pretty certain it would be reassuring.

"Sirius," I said with a cracked voice, "I . . ."

My voice was drowned out by a resounding boom and James' hollering voice. "What the bloody hell is going on in here?" he shouted, stepping through the remains of our dormitory door as he did so, Peter in tow.

Sirius and I just stared blankly.

He cleared his throat and straightened his collar in feigned bashfulness as he took in the situation. "Well, no one seems to be injured," he concluded, "or even angry. I guess blowing up the door was a bit unnecessary."

"I think so," Peter agreed. He stepped over the splintered wood to place a hand on my shoulder. "You alright, mate?" he asked with a concerned look. "You look pretty bloody miserable."

"Yeah, what the hell went on in here?" James asked, throwing Sirius a pointed look as he did so. I caught the hidden meaning behind their exchange. James could guess what was going on. This didn't surprise me.

Neither Sirius nor I could respond. I think we were both emotionally overdosed for the day.

"Right, then," James said as he awkwardly cleared his throat. "I think we could all use some fresh air. Anyone fancy a walk?" Sirius snatched up his coat and gloves and was out the door before James had finished his sentence. James followed suit more slowly, stopping to give me a pat on the shoulder on his way out.

Peter, too, gave me a pat on the shoulder. "You want to walk around the castle?" Peter suggested hopefully. I shook my head. "Do you want to go outside, too, then?" he questioned. I shook my head violently. "Right, then. So, we'll stay in here, yeah?" I nodded. He stood there awkwardly for a moment. "Well, I'm going to go get you some chocolate, okay?" When I smiled faintly at his thoughtfulness, he grinned in relief and assured me he'd be right back.

I could only nod as I watched him retreat.

* * *

"So, what the bloody _hell_ went on in there?" I demanded the moment Sirius and I stepped outside the castle. Merlin, it was fucking cold out. Sirius was lucky I was willing to put up with all his crap and be freezing on top of it. He owed me.

I couldn't believe that he had gone in there when Remus and Katie were up there. Peter and I had tried several times to detain him, yet every time he had managed to break away. I knew that nothing good would come of it. Sirius inevitably made himself look like an arse, and might even have made Moony suspicious - if the werewolf wasn't already. He  
_was_ damn perceptive, and Sirius was quite idiotic about the whole situation. He needed to reestablish his suave attitude, or someone was going to realize that he was going mental over someone he had feelings for. Sirius was pretty obvious in his affections.

The git really needed to listen to me.

"I really don't know, mate," he said with a shake of the head.

"What the hell do you mean you don't know?" I cried. "I heard yelling, and screaming, and more yelling, and you two were in there for at least fifteen bloody minutes!" I threw my hands into the air to emphasize my point, and then kicked some snow for good measure.

"Well," he replied slowly, staring resolutely at his feet as he did so, "I told him." Sirius was really bloody stupid sometimes.

I stopped short and stared. "Wait - what?" He kept walking. I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back, because I was certainly too shocked to move and I wanted to finish this conversation. We had had a plan, one that was elaborate and complex and full of heroics, but the damn dog had just derailed the whole thing.

"You heard me," he growled out, jerking his shoulder from my grasp as he did so.

"WHAT!" I yelled again.

"What do you mean, what? Figure it out you sodding git!" he cried, walking away again as he did so.

I watched him trek through the snow a moment before jogging to catch up. "Just spell it the fuck out for me, Sirius. Tell me exactly what happened." He wasn't supposed to tell Remus anything. He was just supposed to silently integrate himself into the Remus and Katie relationship, and then continually show how much better he was. Some flirting was also permissible, but it was supposed to be tasteful. He was most certainly NOT supposed to barge in on their make out sessions and declare his homosexuality. That was not part of the plan. Not even a little.

"That is what happened," he said sullenly, shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching his shoulders as he did so.

"For fuck's sake, Sirius, it is too bloody cold out here to beat around the bush. Stop being such a poof and tell me what the hell was said in there." I hated it when he was so dramatic about things. We were men. Speaking obliquely was not something we should specialize in.

"Fine. I told him that he wasn't emotionally attached to Katie, and that he was only with her because it wasn't a challenging relationship. He said that he was attached to her, and I said that he wasn't, and we went back and forth and got angry and sad and brooding and then angry again. I told him that shagging wasn't a way to build emotional bonds and then I told him that I liked blokes and that I think he does too." Sirius got rather red in the face as he gave me what I assumed to be a very abbreviated version of what went on during the past twenty five minutes of our lives.

He took a deep breath and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye when I didn't respond. "Well?" he asked.

"Well, what?" I replied, shoving my hands into my pockets as we continued to trudge aimlessly across the grounds.

"Well, what do you think of all that, you bloody prat?" he snapped out.

I sighed. "Well, what did he say when you told him that?" I asked.

"Well, he just stared at me. Then it looked like he was about to say something, but that was when your poncy self blew up the bloody fucking door," he told me, shooting me a glare as he did so.

"Oh. Right. Whoops."

"Yeah, whoops," he growled out.

I sighed again. "So what now?"

"How the hell should I know?" he asked. "I'm so sick of this bollocks."

"You've got to quit being so moody around him," I told him quietly.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that when he's snogging the hair off of that bloody bird every chance he gets?" he cried in despair, dragging his hands through his hair as he did so. The gloves he had on caused his hair to frizz comically. I stifled a snicker.

"Well, I suggest you allow your balls to drop and just suck it up. Stop acting like such a lovesick pussy and start fighting for your man," I told him matter-of-factly.

He stopped and stared at the snow covered grounds, appearing to mull over what I'd just informed him. "You are brutally blunt, Prongs," he finally said meditatively. "Is it really necessary?"

"When it comes to you, yes," I said simply. "Listen, mate. The Sirius that Remus adores is the fun-loving bastard who is both arrogant and considerate, completely flighty and yet utterly genius, and who doesn't take shit from anyone. You need to start acting like yourself, because, quite frankly, Remus looks like he's getting sick of the new you."

"It's so hard, though, James!" he cried, dropping to his knees as he did so. "And now he knows that I like blokes!"

I dropped down in front of him and gripped his shoulders, ignoring the cold snow that bit into my knees. I shook him slightly to make sure he was paying attention. "Remus is not going to care about that. And there is no way that he suspects that you fancy him, alright? Nothing is going to change unless you make it. You are in control. You need to decide if you want things to change for the better or for the worse." I watched him mull over my words before responding.

"You know what? You're right. You're actually fucking right. I'm sick of this bollocks. I haven't felt like myself in ages. It's time to get back on track. Things are going to change for the better, Prongs. I'm going to make sure of that." He stood up and dusted the snow off his trousers, throwing his shoulders back as he straightened out. There was a mischievous look in his eye that I'd missed for quite some time. Now I just needed to pray that my reassuring words were right, and that Remus didn't suspect anything. Otherwise things could get pretty complicated pretty damn fast.

"Thank Merlin," I cried. "I was getting pretty fucking sick of your moody side as well. I can't handle all this emotional crap!" He grinned and threw a snowball at me.

"That's good," he said with a laugh as I threw a snowball back at him, "because I really want to pull a prank. I haven't harassed a Slytherin in ages."

I slung my arm around his shoulders as we headed back into the castle. "A prank it is, then. I'm glad that we're getting you back on track. But what are you going to do about Katie?" I asked curiously.

"Katie is going down," he said with a wicked smile. I laughed.


	14. Chapter 13 Remember that Firewhiskey?

**Authors Note: I am definitely proud of myself. Two chapters in the same month, with a third on the way! Hopefully this will make up for my lapse, eh? Anyway, not much to say except enjoy and let me know what you think!**

* * *

_Who could that be?_ I wondered as I ran downstairs to answer the front door. Whoever was waiting was incredibly impatient. They'd knocked once and then proceeded to pound on the door without pause. It wasn't as if I was taking long, either.

I flung open the door, prepared to reprimand the rudeness of my visitor, and was brought up short by the person waiting for me.

"Blimey, it's about time," Sirius drawled, "it's bloody cold out here."

My mouth dropped open as I took in the sight of him. "Sirius, what are you wearing?" was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. He had some sort of shiny black helmet on his head, the visor pushed back to expose his sparkling eyes, which were illuminated by the nearly full moon blazing overhead. He wore a long black coat as well, which flapped and snapped in the bitterly cold wind of the December night. His hands were encased in black leather gloves and his feet and legs by knee high boots.

"Fetching, isn't it?" he asked with a cocky grin, dusting off invisible specks of dust as he did so. I caught myself nodding in agreement. He looked like some sort of fallen prince intent on seducing me. I grinned at the thought of him knowing what I was thinking. He'd be appalled.

"Yes, but why are you wearing it?" I asked again, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to ward off the howling winds.

"Well," he said meditatively. "What else would I be wearing when riding this?" he asked with a wicked smile, stepping aside with a flourish as he did so.

My mouth once again dropped open at the sight presented to me. I found myself drawn to it despite the freezing winter weather, pulling me towards it as I gingerly hopped from foot to foot to spare my bare feet constant contact with the cold earth. It was a muggle motorcycle, black, shiny, and alluringly dangerous.

I gave it a cursory inspection, mainly taking in the power of the thing, before sprinting back into the warmth of my house, Sirius in tow.

We both immediately dropped in front of the fire blazing in the hearth, myself carelessly and Sirius in that aristocratic manner of his.

"Where, in Merlin's name, did you get _that_?" I asked as I rubbed my hands vigorously to restore the warmth.

He shrugged, reclining on his elbows as he basked in the glow of the fire, lazily absorbing the heat that I'm sure he needed just as much as me. "James and I excavated a muggle junkyard," he replied casually, as if it wasn't something out of the ordinary.

"You got that thing out of a junkyard?" I questioned in alarm, looking at him as if he had gone a bit daft.

He shrugged again. "Sure. It was free, that way."

"Right. But is it safe?" I said, continuing to peer at him as I did so. It seemed that Sirius was acting more like his old self. He'd been having moodswings on a far larger scale than usual lately, and I was beginning to get tired of trying to keep track of it all. The arrogant Sirius before me was a Sirius I was used to, even if I had started to get accustomed to the Sirius who let his guard down.

"Sure it's safe," he drawled, "Prongs and I fixed the bugger up. Looks pretty good, don't you think?" He had a self satisfied smile on his face as he continued to lounge in front of the flames.

"Sure, it _looks_ good," I said, "but that doesn't mean it _is_ good."

He sat up in order to give me a look of complete indignation. "Why, Moony, do you think Prongs and myself incapable of repairing a motorbike? After all that we've accomplished thus far?" He rolled his eyes disdainfully before resuming his former pose.

"Well," I said with a laugh, "considering you're both pureblood wizards and that a motorbike is an entirely muggle creation . . ." I trailed off, letting him finish the thought.

He looked at me for a minute, attempting to hold onto his conviction that he and James could accomplish anything, before breaking down and letting out his barking laugh. "You're right, as always," he said with an affectionate nudge of his foot. "We hired a muggle mechanic to fix the thing up, and then I took care of the magical handiwork."

"Wait," I said in amusement, "_what_ magical handiwork?" His eyes were veritably dancing with mirth and mischief. I'd missed that look.

"Well, it flies, of course," he answered matter-of-factly. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, pretending to be indifferent to my reaction but secretly anticipating it. He loved to drop news on us out of nowhere.

"What?" I cried, both delighted and mildly disturbed. "How?"

"Don't you worry about that, Moony my man. Just be glad that it works." The grin on his face was utterly exultant. It was good to see him so happy.

"You actually created a flying motorbike," I stated flatly, shaking my head as I did so.

"Of course," he answered with a lazy smile.

"Of course," I agreed.

We sat there for a moment, listening to the crackling fire and the groaning winds, before it occurred to me to ask why he was here.

"Is there another reason for you being here other than to show off your new toy?" I inquired.

"Naturally," he drawled. "Prongs and the family went to visit his mental aunt, and I figured staying in a house alone with you was a much better alternative than that." All the Marauders knew that I insisted on my parents leaving the area when the full moon was approaching. I wouldn't risk their danger when I transformed, and I was old enough to convince them of my own safety. I was just glad the full moon didn't fall on Christmas this year.

"Of course," I agreed easily. "You had nothing better to do. Why else would you come to visit me?" I'd meant it teasingly, but it was loaded with meaning that each of us detected.

"Moony," he said sharply, leaning forward and grabbing my hands as he did so, "I love spending time with you. But it's no secret that your parents are less than fond of me. I'm no good for you," he said in a mocking voice that nevertheless held a note of sincerity. He rolled his eyes as if to scoff at my parents' opinion of him, but I knew that it bothered him greatly.

He pulled his hands away and crossed his arms, staring into the flames as he did so. The Sirius before me was one that I was getting to know better every day: the brooding, melancholy Sirius who actually revealed that he cared about quite a lot more than he let on.

I hesitated before undoing his arms and holding his hands in mine again. It seemed an appropriate gesture, so I found it odd that I was self conscious about initiating it. My momentary anxiety was dispelled when he turned to me, gripping my hands tightly, hoping for reassurance.

"Sirius - you're good for me," I said softly. He looked unconvinced. "You're better than good for me. You're perfect for me." I was shocked by the sincerity of my words. They were completely and unthinkingly true. Sirius brought out all my sides, and he did so effortlessly. I was myself around him. I was his strength just as he was mine. I had fun with him in ways impossible to do so with anyone else. Quite simply, Sirius made me happy. As infuriating, pig-headed, and arrogant as he could be, he still determined my emotional state of mind.

The realization was mind boggling to me. I would never be able to live without that boy. It scared me to come to such a conclusion, but it was the blatant truth. Sirius' importance in my life had risen dramatically, whether he wanted to accept it or not. One of mine and Sirius' former arguments rose to mind. He was right. Who needed a girlfriend like Katie when you had someone like Sirius in your life?

He looked into my eyes, reading the honesty in them, before bringing his hands up to cup my face. The heat that rose to my cheeks had nothing to do with the roaring fire. Sirius once again lay raw before me as his eyes bore into mine, searching for something only he could find.

I was fixated, unable to move, barely able to breath, as he brought his face closer to mine. There was no hesitation in his actions. "You mean that, Moony," he said in wonder. "You really do."

He brushed my hair back from my forehead, resting his whole hand against the side of my face. His motions were so sure. So steady. I was completely unresisting, utterly limp as he slid one hand down my cheek and neck to rest on my shoulder.

There was a conviction, a confidence, in his eyes that would not be deterred. His face was slightly closer.

I continued to gaze into his ravaged eyes, attempting to absorb as much of what he was revealing as possible. He seemed to be waiting for something. Some sort of response, or reaction, from me. There was a desperate look in his eyes that belied his confident actions. I swallowed once, twice, as I attempted to formulate some sort of answer. I noticed that his breathing seemed heavier. I wasn't breathing at all.

I couldn't look away. "Of course I meant it," I finally whispered, shocked by how broken my voice sounded. "You're my best mate." Whatever reaction he'd been hoping for, that wasn't it. I watched in confusion as a look of rejection washed across his face. Was my friendship not good enough?

He closed his eyes, once again forcibly severing the connection we'd forged between us. I found myself blinking rapidly. "Of course," he whispered in resignation, and he closed the distance between us.

Sirius and I had hugged before, in triumph, in mockery, and even in awkward affection, but never like this. He clutched me as if holding on for dear life, and I found myself bunching his coat into my fists as I held him just as tightly. We couldn't look at each other anymore, and so we buried our faces in one another's hair, holding each other closer than we'd ever dared before.

Whatever was passing between us, this tension, this aching, throbbing, unspoken tension, was placed under intense scrutiny in that moment as I held Sirius in what could only be described as apology (though what for, I still dared not query), and as Sirius held me in a desperate plea for comfort.

I really began to wonder, for the first time, what was going on between us.

Sirius had been incredibly touchy lately. He was normally rather moody, but it was in a way that still kept his true emotions hidden. However, what he was really feeling had been boiling to the surface more often than not lately. I'd been seeing more genuine emotion from him in the past few months than I had in the past few years. I wondered what had triggered it.

And, furthermore, I wondered if anyone else was seeing this side of him. If not, then why me? What was it about me specifically that was making Sirius break down? What had changed?

Sirius had told me that he liked blokes. That had certainly changed. But, in reality, nothing was different. Sirius still walked the same, talked the same, and flirted the same. There was no overt difference, except for the underlying understanding that he wanted something that would be very hard to get. Our society was not the most accepting.

We'd never really talked about him liking blokes. I suppose that was because it came as no surprise to me. I certainly wasn't expecting it, but after he'd told me, I'd found myself less than shocked. It seemed like Sirius' style, and I knew that nothing would really be different. Or, at least, that nothing_ should_ be different.

But something was.

Maybe _Sirius_ was the one that was having trouble accepting it? But that didn't make sense. Sirius was unapologetic when it came to who and what he was. He _wanted_ to be the way that he was. Everything about him was in his control.

Unless something had finally happened that even he couldn't master.

Maybe he didn't just like blokes in general. Maybe he liked one specifically. That would explain so much. He _had _been acting like James when he'd first fallen for Lily. He was incredibly moody, he picked fights, and he sneered at other relationships.

Perhaps that explained his insane jealousy over Katie and myself. He was bitter that we could have the relationship which he desired. And we were flaunting it in his face. I wished I'd realized sooner.

I wondered who this boy could be, though.

An image of Sirius kissing me with wild abandon rose to my mind, and for a moment I wished - what? That the boy could be me? I laughed at my foolishness. I didn't like blokes. And if I did, it wouldn't be Sirius. Besides, I wasn't his type.

We were friends. The best of friends. There was absolutely nothing I would do to change that. I had no desire to. But sometimes, I couldn't help but think of those dreams . . .

Every now and then they invaded my mind, and though I valiantly resisted, I always ended up surrendering. They were a dirty secret. They were something I kept buried deep and didn't heed except for the immediate moment I was considering them. Otherwise, they were kept out of sight and out of mind. They were irrational, and I was a rational man.

I would never make any effort to make them come true. I honestly didn't want to, either. There was no motivation. No need. No drive. I had Katie for that, and I had Sirius as my best friend. That was all I wanted and all I needed. That was it.

I could still allow myself moments like these, though. Moments when Sirius and I held each other close and clutched each other tight. I knew we would never speak of them, and so I allowed it. After all, nothing would come of it. Nothing _could _come of it. I didn't want things to change.

I didn't want to let go. It was with reluctance that I removed my arms when Sirius pulled away.

He looked at me and smiled. His eyes were no longer raw, but neither were they shuttered. He wasn't hiding anything from me, but he was no longer trying to show me anything either.I wondered again what he'd been trying to convey, before.

"You got any food in this place?" he asked with a grin. "It was a long fly from James' house."

I laughed. "You were probably eating the whole way here. That's all you do." I got up to go into our small kitchen, wrapping my arms around myself as I did so.

I was suddenly very cold.

* * *

"How you feeling, Remus?" I asked concernedly. It was probably stupid to ask him that, but I didn't know what else to say. He looked pretty awful. He'd gotten some nasty cuts from the transformation last night, and there was no Madam Pomfrey to patch him up this time.

"'M okay," he muttered, mustering a grin as he did so. "Prongs and Padfoot are brewing a healing potion as we speak."

I nodded, unsurprised that they'd started doing so as soon as we'd woken up, and also unsurprised that they hadn't asked me for help. I sighed, gingerly sitting on the side of Remus' sagging bed.

"You want any water or anything while you wait?" I asked. I was out of my depth, here. He always had a nurse - or Sirius - to take care of him after these things.

He shook his head, lips tight with pain. He still managed a smile at my thoughtfulness, though. I shifted uncomfortably a few times, unsure of what to do. I wanted to help out somehow, but I was really no good for that.

I viewed James' and Sirius' return with relief, though neither of them acknowledged my presence, as usual. Sirius immediately dropped down on the other side of Remus, stroking the other boy's hair as he waited for James to administer the potion.

I continued to sit unobtrusively.

It took a few hours, but after repeated doses of healing potions and a spell done by James, Remus was finally able to get up and move about.

We took it easy for most of the day, so that Remus wouldn't feel strained. James, Sirius, and I attempted to cook dinner while Remus sat at the kitchen table and laughed at our efforts. It was not a completely failed enterprise, however. We ended up with some rolls that we put cold ham on. It ended up being filling.

"What now?" Sirius asked as we all lazed in Remus' living room. His house was only heated by the fireplace in this room, so it tended to get a bit chilly anywhere except here.

"Well," James said with a devious grin, "I did bring that Firewhiskey Wormy over there swiped for us."

"Oi, I was wondering what happened to that!" I said with a laugh, glad that James had given me credit for the drink.

"Oh, no," Remus said hurriedly, "my parents are getting home tomorrow. We are not going to be hungover when they arrive."

"Relax," James said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I mixed up some potions for that before I came over here."

"Yeah, besides, I know a spell for that, too," I chimed in eagerly. They looked at me oddly for a moment.

"Where'd you learn this spell, Pete-o?" James asked curiously.

"More importantly," Sirius said suspiciously, "_why'd_ you learn this spell?"

"Have you been drunk before?" Remus asked. Leave it to him to cut straight to the heart of the matter. It felt like I was under an investigation. All three of them rarely focused their attention on me at the same time.

I shrugged uncomfortably, berating myself for opening my big mouth. If they knew I'd been drinking already, then they'd want to know who with. That was a whole can of worms that I did not want to deal with.

"I just know the spell," I said easily.

They dismissed my response, choosing instead to grab the liquor.

"Here we are, then," James said, plopping it down onto the carpet between the four of us.

They were all three eyeing it speculatively. It was old news to me.

"I'll go first," Sirius said easily, snagging the bottle from the middle of the floor as he did so. He manhandled the lid until it came off, and then took a huge swig. He immediately started coughing and spluttering. "It burns!" he cried, still coughing. The rest of us laughed at his misfortune. It was his own fault for trying to be cool.

"Hand it here," I said with a laugh. When he gave it to me, I took an easy drink, feeling it slide a burning path down my throat. Being accustomed to it, I showed no reaction.

The others once again laughed.

"You were out done by little Wormy!" James mocked Sirius, grabbing the bottle from me as he did so. He followed my example and took an easy drink. He still coughed, but he handled it much better than Sirius. That didn't surprise me. James always had been the better of the two.

Remus eyed the bottle apprehensively for quite some time. "You're sure there will be no evidence of this in the morning?" he asked nervously. We all nodded and egged him on. He let out a martyred sigh before taking a drink of his own.

"Ugh," he said, smacking his lips as he did so, "it does burn."

"This stuff is pretty disgusting," Sirius said agreeably. He proceeded to take a more subdued drink.

And so it went until the whole bottle was gone.

Once again, being accustomed to the drink had its benefits. I was able to hold my liquor much better than the others.

Remus was already out, laying down on the couch and snoring slightly. It didn't surprise me that he was the first one down. After the transformation and all, he was probably not exactly up to par when it came to drinking this stuff.

James and Sirius had started an impromptu dance party, with James singing the music. They were horribly off key.

I began shooting hexes at their feet to really make them dance, laughing when they yelped in pain when one got them. They finally collapsed breathlessly to the floor, laughing just as hard as me.

"Well, Wormtail, that wash a grea' idea to brin' that firewhiskey," Sirius slurred out, giving me a pat on the back as he did so.

"Yesh, Pete-o. Thish wash fun. It's good to hang out wif you, like ol' times," James said, slinging an arm around my shoulders as he did so.

I felt myself grinning, flattered that James had enjoyed the firewhiskey, and that he'd actually missed me. I'd missed him too, but I would never say as much. Sirius would probably make fun of me. I felt guilty for not spending as much time with them anymore, but at the same time . . . they never said anything about it. Not really.

I put my arm around James' shoulders, giving him a halfhug that he returned enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm off ter bed," Sirius said with a yawn, heading up the stairs as he did so.

"Wait - wait jush a minute," James said, "where do you think you're shleeping?" He waved his arms around to emphasize his point, and ended up falling backwards onto his rear end as he did so.

"Remush's room, o' course," Sirius said with a hiccup.

"Remush shoul' be the one shleeping there," James said reproachfully.

Sirius seemed to consider this for a moment as he swayed at the bottom of the stairs. "You're right. We'll bof shleep there." He walked over to where Remus was sleeping and lifted him up, carrying him in his arms up to his bedroom. James and I both looked at each other as the door slammed.

"What is that all about?" I asked him, stretching out in front of the fire as I did so. I knew James would want the sofa.

"Oh, Shiriush ish in love wif him," James remarked absently, before letting out a belch and collapsing onto the sofa.

I stared for a moment, slightly taken aback by this news. I shuddered. It wasn't exactly natural.

That must explain Sirius' behavior of late, then. He'd been acting oddly enough for even me to notice, and a few others.

Regulus had been wondering about that.


End file.
